How Topicals enhanced the customer experience with Loop

The Challenge: Losing money and customers from a subpar returns process

Before implementing Loop, Topicals was struggling with a chaotic manual returns process.

“The disorganization of the returns process led to immense financial losses, amounting to thousands of dollars monthly, and frustration among our customers,” says Deja Jefferson, Customer Insights Manager at Topicals. “We were navigating the complexities of being a new startup, and we struggled to establish clear boundaries and policies for returns. The absence of a logical system not only frustrated customers, but also resulted in unfair and inconsistent handling of returns for our customer experience team.”

Topicals knew they needed an automated solution that could improve their customers’ returns experience while helping them preserve revenue. They prioritized finding a solution that enabled them to build customized return policies and tap into granular data insights—and quickly discovered that Loop was an ideal fit for their needs.

Build customized return policies with Workflows

For Topicals, it was important to build and manage customizable return policies based on specific products or sales events, ensuring fairness for their customers.

Using Loop’s Workflows tool, “We established well-defined return policies, including a specific 30-day return window, criteria for eligible products, and guidelines for when to issue credits or refunds. This clarity helped set customer expectations and reduced unnecessary returns. Customers have been thrilled with the new returns process.”, says Jefferson.

Workflows

Set and manage return policies for every use case

Retain more revenue with Bonus Credit

Before using Loop, customers had to send back their product to get a refund, and were unlikely to choose another option. Because Loop’s portal provides shoppers with instant access to their refund credit, they can apply the credit towards any item in the shop, increasing their likelihood of a repeat purchase.

Shop Now & Later

Boost customer retention and revenue through a seamless exchange process

Tap into business insights

Loop’s Insights feature has also been key to the brand’s growth. “It’s a game-changer,” says Jefferson. “As someone who analyzes data daily, I find Loop’s reporting on customer product feedback incredibly intuitive. We can now see detailed breakdowns of product performance and understand why items are being returned.”

Insights

Get business intelligence to optimize your operations

The impact: Happier customers, lower return rates

Partnering with Loop has helped Topicals build a clear and simple returns process for their shoppers, resulting in lower return rates (75% reduction from 2% to 0.5%), fewer complaints, and higher retention rates.

A superior customer experience

Previously, shoppers were subject to confusing return policies that weren’t equally enforced. But now, “the ease of submitting returns through the portal and the transparency of our policies have significantly improved their experience,” says Jefferson. Since implementing Loop, customer complaints related to returns have decreased by 40%.

Higher customer and revenue retention

Loop’s exchange optimization features, Shop Now & Later, have helped Topicals keep customers coming back, and improved the brand’s bottom line. “By leveraging Loop’s credit options, we have saved an estimated $5,000 in revenue over the past year,” says Jefferson. They’ve also boosted their customer retention rate by 15% and increased sales by 10%.

Lower product return rates

Thanks to Insights, Topicals has been able to uncover product issues and understand why they’re being returned. These data insights have empowered the brand to make improvements to their product development and marketing strategies, resulting in a 20% decrease in return rates for their top five most returned products.

“The platform has not only streamlined our returns process but also enhanced our overall customer experience,” says Jefferson. “The combination of clear policies, user-friendly tools, and powerful analytics has allowed us to operate more efficiently and strategically.”

“Loop has been a transformative solution for Topicals.”