Pooky Lighting, a UK-based decorative lighting brand, has revolutionized its eCommerce returns process by implementing ReturnGO. Within weeks of going live with ReturnGO, Pooky saw a big reduction in customer service workload, better visibility into returns data, and smoother coordination between their warehouse operations and customer service team.

Results

• 41% Fewer Returns-Related Tickets: By offering a self-service returns process, Pooky saw a 41% drop in returns-related customer service tickets.
• Reduced Workload: ReturnGO has enabled Pooky to manage returns with fewer staff members than before, saving the team time to spend on more valuable tasks.
• 5.6% Average Retained Revenue Rate: By offering refund alternatives such as replacing the item, Pooky Lighting has successfully retained 5.6% of revenue that would otherwise have been lost to refunds.
• Better Visibility Into Data: Collecting return reasons and other returns data has given Pooky Lighting valuable insights into product performance.

Pooky Lighting’s Story

Founded over 10 years ago, Pooky Lighting offers decorative lighting solutions that blend British craftsmanship with modern design. Operating across the UK, Europe, and the US, Pooky specializes in ceramic lamps, delicate lampshades crafted from fine fabrics, and eco-friendly lighting products inspired by the founder’s Cotswold heritage.

The brand’s mission emphasizes quality, affordability, and exceptional British customer service, making decorative lighting accessible while maintaining sustainability standards.

The Challenge

Before adopting ReturnGO, Pooky struggled with a messy manual returns process.

The company relied only on Shopify’s basic returns functionality. Every return was either processed blindly upon arrival at the warehouse, with the team manually matching returns to original orders, or initiated manually by customer service following phone calls from shoppers. This led to a growing pile of unidentified returns, considerable confusion, and very slow processing times.

The lack of a structured returns management system also meant Pooky couldn’t properly track why items were being returned, missing out on important feedback that could help the company improve its products. 

As more and more orders came in, Pooky realized that it needed a modern, automated solution to manage returns more smoothly and meet customer expectations.

“Our old returns process was a challenge and had reached the end of its lifecycle. We were constantly trying to match physical returns to orders, which was very time-consuming and confusing.”

– Ben Durrant, Solutions Architect, Pooky Lighting

Why Pooky Chose ReturnGO

Pooky needed a returns solution that could automate tasks, scale with the business, and connect easily with its existing systems. ReturnGO stood out for several key reasons.

First, ReturnGO was the only platform that could properly handle Pooky’s complex product bundles. Unlike other systems, ReturnGO could accommodate, for example, bundles of one lamp that could be made up of separate parts such as a base, a stand, and a lampshade, and process returns for each part correctly.

Second, since Pooky already used Brightpearl for warehouse management, the fact that ReturnGO seamlessly connected with Brightpearl was a huge plus, promising a smooth and integrated workflow.

The unique, often bulky, and delicate nature of Pooky’s products, combined with specialized processes, requires an advanced solution that can handle the complexities.

On top of everything, Pooky appreciated ReturnGO’s personalized approach to addressing the company’s specific needs compared to other, one-size-fits-all solutions.

“We looked at a lot of solutions, but ReturnGO was the only one that could truly handle our unique product bundles and support the integrations we needed.”

– Ben Durrant, Solutions Architect, Pooky Lighting

How Pooky Lighting Uses ReturnGO

Pooky uses ReturnGO to automate the returns process and make operations smoother, despite the unique challenges of handling bulky and delicate items, and significantly improve the customer experience.

Self-Service Return Portal

The major factor is ReturnGO’s easy-to-use self-service return portal, which is prominently featured on Pooky’s website. This portal lets customers start their returns themselves, choose why they’re returning an item, and get clear instructions for returning the item. 

Switching to an automated returns platform also means return policies are now consistently and automatically enforced. Pooky can now be consistent about return rules, no longer relying on customer service staff to be trained on and remember all the relevant eligibility conditions.

This has made the customer service department much more efficient. With customers submitting their own returns through the portal, Pooky’s customer service team is freed up to focus on more complex customer questions and provide better overall service. 

In fact, Pooky saw a 41% drop in customer service tickets related to returns. The result was that Pooky was able to focus more on the customer rather than the administration tasks, empowering the team to achieve more with less.

Overall, automating eCommerce returns saves Pooky’s entire team time that was previously spent manually handling return requests and follow-up.

“The self-service portal has transformed how our customers initiate returns. It’s incredibly intuitive, and the automation behind it has freed up so much of our team’s time.”

– Ben Durrant, Solutions Architect, Pooky Lighting

Return Drop-Offs and Pickups

Pooky uses ReturnGO to offer flexible and convenient return options tailored to its unique products and to its various customer bases.

For example, for standard items within the UK, ReturnGO automatically generates QR codes, eliminating the need for customers to print return labels and making it easy for them to simply bring their items to a Yodel drop-off location. This makes returning smaller items very straightforward and easy.

For Pooky’s larger and often delicate products, such as tall floor lamps and large, heavy chandeliers, scheduled pickup collections directly from the customer can be arranged via a custom process with carriers like DPD and DX.

Streamlined Workflows

ReturnGO has revolutionized Pooky’s internal workflow. When a return is received at the warehouse, the team uses ReturnGO together with Peoplevox and Brightpearl to validate items, ensuring that the items were correctly returned before processing the refund.

ReturnGO’s direct integration with Shopify and Brightpearl supports Pooky’s unique flow tailored to the company’s operational needs, especially for managing individual components of product bundles and ensuring careful handling upon return.

For example, Pooky lets customers mix and match hundreds of lamp bases with hundreds of different lampshades, resulting in hundreds of thousands of potential product combinations. Each lamp bundle might involve multiple separate SKUs for the base, shade, and bulb, all of which could be returned independently or together. ReturnGO is the only solution able to support this unique return workflow.

Pooky also takes advantage of ReturnGO’s automation features, automatically approving return requests when they meet the relevant criteria. This hugely reduces the need for manual intervention unless required and accelerates refund processing times.

“ReturnGO’s logic is straightforward and powerful. It’s the first returns system I’ve worked with that just makes sense.”

– Ben Durrant, Solutions Architect, Pooky Lighting

Smart Returns Process

ReturnGO’s flexibility allows Pooky to easily set up and enforce smart return policies.

For example, Pooky can charge a restocking fee on sale items and certain collections to curb “wardrobing” behavior while maintaining free returns for most items.

ReturnGO also streamlines how Pooky manages refunds and exchanges. When a customer opts for a refund, the automated system ensures it is processed once the item is validated in the warehouse. 

For exchanges, ReturnGO facilitates a smooth process where customers can easily replace a damaged item with another of the same item. By offering easy product replacements, Pooky is able to retain an average of 5.6% of revenue. 

This seamless approach to managing return resolutions means Pooky can offer flexibility to customers while effectively protecting the business’s bottom line, which is especially crucial when dealing with the higher costs associated with returning bulky and fragile products.

Advanced Data and Analytics

ReturnGO’s ability to collect structured returns data provides Pooky with actionable insights that drive product improvements and supplier feedback.

Rather than assuming why people return things, Pooky can now track actual returns data. 

For example, tracking return reasons helped Pooky identify that the colors of certain products look different in their photos than in reality. Using that data, Pooky was able to improve those products’ photos, making it easier for shoppers to choose the right item and setting clearer expectations.

Additionally, while Pooky had previously estimated that the return rate was around 10%, ReturnGO made it possible for Pooky to confirm that rate and track it over time across different products. Pooky also observed a noticeable decrease in value lost from returns.

The ability to track customer portal sessions in ReturnGO has also been significant for Pooky, enabling Pooky to see when customers started requesting a return but didn’t finish submitting the request. This helps highlight issues and friction points, enabling Pooky to improve its process and service.

Conclusion

Implementing ReturnGO has completely changed how Pooky manages returns. What used to be a time-consuming, manual process is now smooth, automated, and data-driven. 

This transformation has enabled Pooky to meet customer expectations for easy returns and streamlined Pooky’s operations.