To retain more revenue and increase customer satisfaction, you can enable the exchange feature in your returns portal. When a customer returns an item, they'll be offered to exchange the item for another variant instead of getting a refund.

Approving exchanges

You can control when exchanges should be released for fulfilment to the customer. The exchange can either be released immediately when the return has been submitted, or once it has been approved in the Float Admin. It is also possible to automate the approval using our API.

Exchange flows

We support two flows for exchanges. Each has its own pros and cons, and we recommend understanding the different methods in detail, and choose the one that suits your setup.

Standard exchanges

A standard exchange creates a new order in Shopify with the exchange items. Since the customer does not have to pay for exchanging, the order has a discount code of 100%.

The benefit of this flow is that it easily integrates with your other workflows. Because it is just a regular Shopify order like any other placed in your store, your fulfilment services, warehouse, ERP etc should have no problems processing it.

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Exchange order naming

For easy reference, the name of the exchange order will be associated with the original order name. For example, if your original order name is #1000, the exchange order will be named EXC-#1000-1. Subsequent exchanges will be named EXC-#1000-2 and so on.

Shopify native exchanges

Shopify native exchanges is tightly integrated to Returns and Exchanges in Shopify. When a return is created in your return portal, the order in Shopify will be updated with a return and any exchange items the customer might have chosen.

This provides full transparency of the lifetime of the order since any exchanges happen on the same order. In turn, if you're managing refunds yourself, calculating refunds also become simpler because suggested refunds take exchanges into account.

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Compatibility for native exchanges

Your other systems like ERP, fulfilment services and warehouse must be compatible with adding new line items to an order after it has been created

Prepaid exchanges

Prepaid exchanges lets your customers exchange products in the returns portal by paying for their exchanges when completing their return. If, for any reason (accounting or otherwise), your process does not allow the discount-based exchange model then prepaid exchanges is a good choice. It does not interfere with your existing refunds process and does not inflate any sales, margins and so on.

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Paying for a prepaid exchange

Payment of a prepaid exchange is executed via a Draft Order in your usual checkout flow. This ensures that your customers pay in a known and safe environment and choose their preferred payment method among all the ones you support in the regular checkout.

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Compatability with gift cards

Prepaid exchanges are not compatible with gift cards.

FAQ

How do I enable exchanges?

Exchanges are enabled and disabled under the "Exchange" section in your Portal Configuration

How do I choose between the two exchange workflows?

We recommend choosing Shopify Native exchanges if possible. It provides the same functionality but with more transparency. Consult with your ERP, Warehouse etc. to check whether your compatible with this workflow

Is the customer charged anything for an exchange?

No. Exchanges are free of charge and requires no exchange of money between you and the customer.

Can the customer exchange to items that are not in stock?

No. The exchange options offered to the customer are only the ones that are in stock in your store. When the return is created, the exchange items will be reserved until the exchange is approved. For native exchanges this is handled automatically, and for standard exchanges the reservation is handled via a Draft Order.