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 it instead of getting a refund.

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.

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 fulfillment 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.

Discount-based exchanges

In this mode, a discount is added to the new exchange order. They'll simply "pay" with their return item which is then not refunded.

Prepaid exchanges

If, for any reason (accounting or otherwise), your process does not allow the discount-based exchange model then prepaid exchanges is a good choice as it does not interfere with your existing refunds process.

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Compatability with gift cards

Prepaid exchanges are not compatible with gift cards.

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 with native exchanges

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

Advanced exchanges

The standard mode of exchanges lets your customers exchange to another variant of the same product as they're returning. With advanced exchanges, your customers can exchange to any other product in your store.

How it works

When a customer registers a return in your returns portal, they'll be offered to use the value of the returned items ("return credits"), to shop for something else instead of getting a refund. They can search and discover new products directly in the portal and add them to the cart. If the value of the exchange items exceeds the available return credits, the customer is asked to pay the difference when confirming the return.

Boosting exchanges with a bonus

To incentivize your customers to pick an exchange over a refund, you can offer them a shopping bonus. The bonus is defined as a percentage value on top of the value of the returned items. For example, if a customer is returning an item worth €100 and the bonus is 10%, the customer can shop for up to €110 at no extra charge.

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Compatability with advanced exchanges

When an advanced exchange is made, the fulfillment order that contains the items is set on hold. To prevent delivering items that are awaiting return delivery, you need to ensure that your fulfillment service(s) respect this fulfillment status. If you're running native exchanges, it works the same way as usual variant exchanges.

Payments and checkout

If a customer has to pay in connection with an exchange, the payment is done via your standard Shopify checkout. This ensures that payment is done in a safe environment and has all the same payment methods available as when an order is placed through your store.

Approving exchanges

You can control when exchanges should be released for fulfillment 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.

FAQ

How do I enable exchanges?

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

How do I choose the best exchange workflow?

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

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.