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VRG GRL: Returns, Refunds and Refundid
Welcome to our second Refundid partnered Q&A series with VRG GRL's Co-CEO Cale Suesskow. He kindly agreed to answer all our burning questions on all things returns, refunds and Refundid.
VRG GRL implemented Refundid in July 2022 after discussing the opportunity for a few months. After understanding their customer type and analysing their returns data they provided to the Refundid team, it became clear that offering instant refunds would provide incremental benefits across the business.
When did you implement Refundid on your online store?
We went live with Refundid in July of this year and the process was really quite seamless. I think the onboarding took less than a week. Myself and the team didn't have to do any work. It was all really quick, really simple, really easy.
Why was VRG GRL an early adopter of Refundid?
We were aware of Refundid from the very early stages of its existence. Initially I was not sure whether we should go forward with it because it kind of went against some of my traditional thinking against returns. But the more I thought about it, it became really clear that Refundid is actually more useful as a tool to try and re-engage your customers who have had to make a return.
So the way I thought about it was it's kind of like another alternative version of offering exchanges. It speeds up that return process. So when the customer processes their return, they get their instant refund, they can be back on the site making a purchase, they could have their second order in the time that it would usually take them just to return their first order. So what really became aware to me early on was that if you want to be a brand that is really customer centric and is focusing on what makes your customer happy, these are the kinds of things that you need to think about.
Has Refundid helped with managing refunds through peak periods? How?
Refundid eliminates the customer service challenge of keeping up with the returns because the customer is essentially already received their desired outcome before they've even sent the order back. The customer could have their money back in their pocket, get back on your site, browsing for the correct size in the time that usually we wouldn't have even received their return back in our warehouse to process it.
What results have you seen since partnering with Refundid?
We've seen great results since partnering with Refundid and it hasn't even been that long yet. We're yet to see the peak holiday period, so that's really exciting. Off the top of my head, I think we've seen a repurchase rate increase of 98% from people who return through standard return and then we've seen an improvement in repurchase time of around 47%. So I think with standard returns compared to Refundid returns, we're seeing repurchases happen in about half the time that you should fund.
Would you say Refundid is helping to further establish VRG GRL as an all-inclusive brand?
Refundid has allowed us to create less barriers and less friction to our customers finding their perfect fit. The reality with ecommerce versus traditional bricks and mortar retailers is that people who shop from online stores, especially if it's their first time shopping there, they can't try something on. You can spend as much time as you want affecting your size description in your size guide, but the reality is that sometimes things just aren't right. You want to create as many opportunities for customers to have a good experience. Not just a good experience before they purchase, but a good experience after they purchase. Part of finding the right size is part of that experience. The feeling that they get when they try something on and they say, ‘this is great!’, that's what we're striving for.
What was VRG GRL’s refund experience before Refundid? What would be your advice to other retailers dealing with similar challenges?
Our experience before Refundid wasn't a bad experience, but what Refundid has done for us is allowed us to think about returns in a slightly different light. We look at them now as an opportunity for customers to repurchase and get the size or the product that they were imagining when they added it to their cart. So by creating less friction, better experience, a way for them to get their money back in their pocket without having to wait for it to be sent back and processed, that's an opportunity for them to try again and to have a better experience the next time.
Refundid also turns that negative experience of not getting the right fit into a positive one. Because they don't have any hassles, they don't have to call up and ask customer service, ‘when am I getting my refund? When is my order being processed?’ So it automatically turns that negative experience into a better one that allows customers to feel more confident to go back and repurchase.
