Happy Returns provides Peak Design a world of benefits on international returns and exchanges
Challenge
With 70% of its sales outside the U.S., Peak Design needed a better, less costly and more efficient way to handle returns and exchanges for its international customers.
Solution
Happy Returns created a fully self-service way for Peak Design customers to generate return labels and use smart logic to route returns and exchanges to Peak Design’s nearest third-party logistics center.
Impact
Enhanced customer satisfaction
Single policy for returns and exchanges
Easier, lower-cost international returns
Partnership for innovative new solutions
Peter Dering founded Peak Design in 2010 after returning from a months-long trek around the globe, where carrying a camera had become a big hassle. Spurred by the experience, he invented a simple, yet ingenious, device called Capture, which revolutionized how cameras can be carried on a belt, backpack or strap. Then, he raised the capital needed to launch, using a unique Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
Peak Design has gone on to create a wide range of travel and camera bags, accessories, clips and straps, tripods, mobile cases and mounts, and more—with funding from additional Kickstarter campaigns—to serve creative folks, commuters and adventurers.
The Challenge
Peak Design’s focus on selling over the Internet has helped it to build a truly global brand—with 70% of its customers outside of the U.S.
This has created several challenges for the San Francisco-based company. For example, to address the expense, complexity and delays of international shipping, Peak Design opened several third-party logistics (3PL) centers closer to its customers in Asia and Europe. This sped up fulfillment and reduced taxes and fees.
However, returns and exchanges on international orders continued to be an issue. Much of the process had to be handled manually, requiring significant time and effort. Peak Design’s customer service team would need to log into 3PL partner systems to generate a return merchandise authorization (RMA) label to send to customers.
In addition, customers would still be required to pay for return shipping, which obviously impacted consumer satisfaction on exchanges due to size or color preference—and led to more effort for Peak Design if reimbursements became necessary.
The Opportunity
Over its 11 years in business, Peak Design has considered a number of return providers. Unfortunately, most of them couldn’t accommodate the company’s need for robust international return and exchange capabilities.
That all changed once Peak Design met with Happy Returns.
“It was perfect, serendipitous timing. Happy Returns offered international returns and was continuing to build out its capabilities, which allowed us to tailor some things. It’s now a super seamless process.”
— Jen Howell, Director of Customer Experience and Logistics, Peak Design
The Solution
Happy Returns helped Peak Design navigate the complexities of international returns to create a completely self-service option for customers.
The process starts online, with a customer selecting the items they would like to return and easily producing a prepaid shipping label. Happy Returns uses dynamic logic to ensure the label routes the return to the nearest Peak Design 3PL location. With the support of multiple carriers and the ability to easily route to multiple destinations, a retailer can choose the most cost-effective solution for each country in which they do business.
Peak Design relies on the Happy Returns functionality to refund the customer automatically upon carrier scan of the package, so there’s never any waiting for approval from a customer service agent—speeding refunds and exchanges, and reducing the time burden on Peak Design’s team.
Another option is to generate a QR code so returned gear and accessories can be dropped off box-free in person at any of nearly 10,000 Return Bar locations in the U.S. This eliminates the printing of labels, repackaging of items and lengthy waits for refunds.
“Approximately 50% of our domestic returns are in-store at a Return Bar,” says Howell. “This is great not only for the customer’s ease and convenience, but also for sustainability. Happy Returns has plans to open international Return Bar locations, and we’ll definitely be one of the first to sign up for that.”
“Right now, most of our returns go via DHL. But moving forward, it’s nice to have the flexibility to work with different carriers to drive costs down for us and our customers.”
— Jen Howell, Director of Customer Experience and Logistics, Peak Design
The Impact
Higher satisfaction scores
Peak Design has been a customer-driven brand since its first crowdfunding campaign. “We like to say our customers are our board of directors,” Howell notes.
With the implementation of Happy Returns and an expansion of Peak Design’s customer service team, the company’s already high net promoter scores (NPS) have soared even higher. “Our detractor scores for returns are zero since we implemented Happy Returns.”
Single exchange policy
Peak Design can now offer a single, equitable return and exchange policy to both international and domestic customers, further enhancing customer satisfaction and reducing handholding on international returns by the company’s customer service team.
“Our international customers no longer think we favor domestic shoppers,” explains Howell. “We’ve also eliminated at least 10 minutes per ticket on every international return, which really adds up.”
A productive partnership
Peak Design has been able to grow productively through its partnership with Happy Returns. “It feels like Happy Returns is always open to exploring new solutions,” Howell states. “I couldn’t ask for a better relationship.”
“Our detractor scores for returns are zero since we implemented Happy Returns.”
— Jen Howell, Director of Customer Experience and Logistics, Peak Design
Looking ahead
Peak Design is eager to see the expansion of Return Bar locations around the globe, as well as to work with additional carriers on returns and exchanges. “It all contributes to eliminating those detractor scores from unhappy customers,” she concludes.