Faulty item flow

This flow is part of a SaaS platform that facilitates returns and exchanges for Shopify-based stores. Specifically, this feature helps brands handle faulty items within the return process.
In e-commerce, especially in fashion, there are instances where customers receive items that are defective or not fit for sale. These issues often go unnoticed until the package is opened, leading to a frustrating experience for both the customer and the brand.

To address this, this flow was designed to improve communication and streamline the process, ensuring a smoother resolution for both parties.

TL;DR

Customers receiving faulty items face frustration and uncertainty, while merchants struggle with delayed awareness and inconsistent decision-making. This leads to customer dissatisfaction, potential churn, and operational inefficiencies.

Opportunity: Streamline the return process with clear communication, faster resolutions, and fairer decision-making to improve trust, efficiency, and brand reputation.

Goal

Design a smoother, more transparent return experience that reduces frustration for customers and helps merchants handle faulty item cases more effectively.

Role

Product Designer (Research, UX/UI design, interaction, prototyping, and handoff) in collaboration with the VP of Product, Product Managers, Engineers, and Co-Founders.

Company

Swap Commerce

Year

2025

Industry

E-commerce

Revenue

$40 Million (2025)

Company size

100+

The goal

The goal of this project was to provide brands with a complete, structured flow for handling faulty items, from the moment a customer realizes they received a defective product to the point where they receive a refund.

I aimed to create a seamless experience that instills confidence in both parties:
* For customers: Ensuring they feel supported and receive a clear, efficient resolution.
* For merchants (brands): Providing a system that flags faulty items for special handling, improving internal processes and customer satisfaction.

The Problem

Customers who receive faulty items face friction and uncertainty in the return process, leading to frustration and potential loss of trust in the brand. On the merchant side, decision-making can be delayed or inconsistent, affecting both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Identified Issues in the Flow:

For the Customer:

Lack of transparency: Customers don’t know what to expect after submitting a return request (e.g., how long it will take, whether they’ll get a refund).
Emotional friction: The journey starts with frustration and anxiety, and if the resolution isn’t clear or fair, they may not buy again.
Potentially negative brand impact: A denied refund without clear justification could lead to a bad review or loss of a loyal customer.

For the Merchant:

Delayed awareness of the issue: The merchant isn’t aware of faulty items until the customer complains, meaning reactive rather than proactive issue handling.
Inconsistent decision-making: Some merchants may approve refunds easily, while others may be hesitant or slow, leading to customer dissatisfaction.
Risk of customer churn: A negative experience can lead to lower customer retention and impact brand reputation.

Core Problem to Solve:

How might we create a smoother, more transparent faulty item return process that reduces frustration for customers while helping merchants make fair, efficient decisions?

Research & Insights  

To better understand the problem, we:

Conducted research and spoke with merchants about their experience handling faulty items.

Here’s what we learned:

Keeping vs. Returning Faulty Items: Some merchants prefer to let customers keep defective items rather than process a return, as the cost of shipping the item back to the warehouse often outweighs its value. In these cases, allowing the customer to keep the item while still receiving a refund creates a win-win situation.
Quality Control & Recalls: Some brands prefer to inspect faulty items before issuing a refund. This helps them identify patterns in product defects, improve quality control, and potentially issue recalls to prevent further sales of defective stock.
Alternative Return Destinations: Instead of sending faulty items back to the warehouse - where they might get mixed up with sellable inventory, brands may prefer to direct returns to their offices or a separate location. This allows them to inspect the defects without disrupting warehouse operations.

To better understand the problem, we:

* Conducted competitive analysis to explore how leading brands handle returns.
* Listen to merchants to understand their pain points and expectations.
* Examined tools used by brands for website and marketing customization.

Key Insights:

1. Merchants want more control over the return experience.
* Many find existing return solutions frustrating and inflexible.
* A fully branded experience improves customer loyalty and conversion rates.  

2. Trust is critical for adoption.
* Brands hesitate to switch if they are unsure about ease of use and benefits.
* Demonstrating clear value (reduced support tickets, increased retention) encourages adoption.  

3. Ease of transition matters.
* A complex migration process discourages merchants from upgrading.
* Providing tutorials, onboarding support, and automation helps drive adoption.  

4. Merchants actively explore competitors.
Many merchants are dissatisfied with their current return solutions.
Highlighting customization, automation, and cost savings differentiates our platform.  
A seamless return experience increases buyer trust.
Customers feel disconnected when a return portal looks different from the main website.
Merchants prefer a return process that feels like an extension of their brand.  

Wireframing & Prototyping: We designed low-fidelity wireframes to visualize the new layout and navigation, iteratively refining them based on user feedback. Afterward, we built a high-fidelity, interactive prototype to test the design.

Usability Testing: We conducted usability tests with a diverse group of users to validate the design and identify areas for improvement. Based on the feedback, we made necessary adjustments to the design.

Visual Design & Style Guide: We developed a cohesive visual language, including color schemes, typography, and iconography, ensuring consistency throughout the app. We also created a style guide to maintain design consistency in future updates.

Pain Points

Dealing with faulty items presents several challenges for both brands and customers:  

Lack of Visibility for Brands: Brands rely solely on customer complaints to identify faulty items, making it difficult to track recurring issues or take proactive measures.
Inefficient Support Process: Support teams want to assist customers, but without a dedicated flow, handling faulty items becomes inconsistent and time-consuming.
High Friction in Returns: The cost of return shipping often outweighs the item's value, yet there’s no seamless way for brands to decide whether an item should be returned, refunded, or kept by the customer.
Unstructured Return Handling: Without a clear process, faulty item returns can cause confusion—should the item go back to the warehouse, a different location, or be discarded? This lack of organization leads to inefficiencies.
Poor Customer Experience: Receiving a defective item is frustrating, and without a smooth resolution process, customers feel uncertain about how to proceed.
Brand Reputation at Risk: Negative experiences can lead to bad reviews and complaints, impacting customer trust and brand loyalty.
By addressing these UX challenges, the goal is to create a more intuitive and efficient flow that reduces friction, improves communication, and enhances the overall experience for both brands and customers.

Key Insights:

Personas

Merchant

Name: Adam, brand owner
Age: 45 years old
Location: London, UK

Background:

Passionate about fashion since childhood, built a strong, unique brand identity.
Understands technology but prefers not to be hands-on, relying on his team for technical matters.
Frequently contacts the support team for assistance.
Highly invested in brand consistency and customer experience across all touchpoints.

Pain Points:

Struggles with complex systems.
Concerned about brand reputation as customer complaints increase.

Goals & Expectations:

A clear and efficient return and exchange system.
More automation in processes like handling faulty items.
Better tracking of faulty items to maintain quality control.

Quote:

"I don’t have time for complicated tools. I need quick, clear insights when something goes wrong so I can fix issues immediately and maintain a high-quality experience."

Customer
support

Name: Sarah Thompson  
Age: 32  
Location: London, UK
Role: Customer Support Specialist at a mid-sized fashion brand

Background:

Six years of experience in retail and e-commerce customer support.
Passionate about problem-solving and ensuring smooth customer experiences.
Manages multiple tools and workflows daily.

Pain Points:  

Struggles to balance multiple tasks throughout the day.
Uses too many tools, leading to inefficiencies and time lost learning new systems.
Needs to manually check every return order for details.
Must ensure faulty items aren’t mistakenly restocked.
Responsible for providing top-tier service to customers.

Goals & Expectations:  

A streamlined workflow for handling returns and faulty items.
Access to all necessary information in one place.
Faster processing to maintain customer and managerial satisfaction.

Quote:
"I want to focus on solving customer issues. A clear, all-in-one dashboard with return statuses, faulty items, and customer details would help me work efficiently, keep customers happy, and meet my boss’s expectations."

Solution Design

To create an intuitive and efficient experience, we focused on the following key aspects:

Clear Differentiation Between Regular and Faulty Item Flows.

Ensuring that faulty item returns are visually and functionally distinct from standard return requests.
Reducing confusion for both customers and support teams.

Visual-First Interface

Uses icons and imagery to support decision-making and improve clarity.
Clearly marks return requests as faulty items, making them easy to identify at a glance.

Settings Customization:

Allows brands to define how faulty returns are handled, whether offering refunds without return, requesting inspections, or directing returns to a specific location.
1. Customer-Facing Experience.
- Provides a preview of what the end customer will see, including emails and the final return portal page.
- Ensures transparency and alignment with brand policies, so customers clearly understand the next steps in their return process.
  By integrating these elements, we designed a seamless, user-friendly flow that enhances communication, reduces friction, and optimizes the faulty item return process for both brands and customers.

Key Insights:

Don't miss the next project

Last Project

Next Project

Let’s start the next project together.

galpel@gmail.com

054-5620106

Instagram