When a returns operation is built sales channel by sales channel, it eventually becomes a liability.
That's the position Linzi found themselves in as their business grew. Their Shopify storefront was performing well. Their marketplace channels were generating volume.
But their returns process was a patchwork of separate flows, each one requiring their warehouse team to operate differently depending on where the original order came from. The operational cost was increasing. Customers were waiting longer for resolutions. And their previous returns provider was too slow to adapt to their operational needs.
Running returns across multiple marketplace channels sounds manageable in practice. But the reality of being on the warehouse floor and switching processes for every item is a different thing entirely.
Each marketplace had its own logic, its own requirements, and its own exceptions. There was no single flow that covered everything.
Linzi was operating across several marketplace channels alongside their own Shopify storefront, including Mirakl-powered platforms such as Freemans, Debenhams, and Matalan. Each channel had been set up independently with its own returns process.
But as return volumes grew, the gaps between those processes became expensive. Warehouse staff were spending more time working out which process applied to which return than they were actually processing returns. Manual steps that should have been automated weren't. Support tickets were piling up because customers couldn't get clear answers about where their refund was.
Their existing provider wasn't responding to their needs. The roadmap was rigid and change requests weren't being met. When your returns process differs by channel, your warehouse team pays the price. And when your provider isn't moving with you as you scale, those problems can compound.
The decision to change came down to three things: flexibility, marketplace compatibility, and the quality of the working relationship on offer.
At Last's platform meant the returns flow could be built around Linzi's multi-channel sales setup. There was no piecemealing workflows for each marketplace. The platform was unified to match how their warehouse operated.
At Last is purpose built for Shopify retailers operating across multiple marketplaces. That matters because multi-marketplace returns have specific complexity that less flexible returns tools don't account for.
The third factor was support and thoughtful account management. Dedicated UK-based technical support meant there was a real team to work with, not a ticket queue with a three-day turnaround. Linzi wanted a partner who would iterate with them as their marketplace mix and business evolved, not a vendor who would hand over a product and step back.
What really sets them apart is their partnership approach – they are incredibly responsive to our feedback and have consistently implemented updates to the platform based on our specific needs.
— Hannah Turner, Head of Customer Support from Linzi.
One of the practical concerns for any retailer evaluating a returns platform switch is what the transition actually looks like. Migrations have a reputation for being disruptive, and for a team already stretched by returns volume this can represent real risk.
For Linzi, most of the setup was already done out of the box. At Last's Shopify and marketplace connectors handled the technical build and integrations, while Linzi's team focused on the configuration decisions that mattered to them — particularly how the warehouse workflow should be reflected in the new flow. The platform's international coverage also meant that fulfilment geography wasn't a constraint.
The new unified flow went live across all channels quickly. Once it was live, the context-switching stopped as warehouse staff were working from a single process regardless of which channel a return had come through.
Key outcomes for Linzi fell across four areas, and each one connected back to the core problem of fragmented, channel-specific returns processes.
As Hannah put it: "It would be an absolute nightmare if we no longer use At Last."
Reduction in processing time. Warehouse processing time per return and refund dropped once the team was working from a single unified flow. The mechanism was straightforward: eliminating the need to identify and apply a different process per channel removed a significant amount of non-value-adding time from every return handled. Staff could move faster because the process was consistent.
Cost savings in team time: Lower processing time per return translates directly into lower per-return costs. FTE hours previously spent on returns administration could be moved into other business areas because of the platform. The cost reduction was a direct result of the consolidation.
A reduction of 30% or more in customer service enquiries.
Customer experience. Linzi's customers now receive their returns labels reliably every time as part of a new, slicker user journey. This was something that was a persistent source of frustration under their previous provider.
Inbound customer service enquiries fell by 30% after the switch, with returns making up a large proportion of total CS touchpoints. The experience for shoppers became consistent regardless of which marketplace the customer originally bought from, and that consistency matters for repeat purchase behaviour.
Revenue retention. With both exchange and store credit options surfaced at the point of return, more customers chose to exchange rather than take a refund. Exchange options moved from size only to multivariant options and incentives to purchase entirely new items when returning. That shift boosted recovered revenue that would otherwise have left the business entirely.
Linzi now has a returns operation that can grow alongside their marketplace presence. Adding a new channel doesn't mean building a new returns process from scratch. The platform consolidates that complexity, and the warehouse team keeps working from the same flow they've already adopted.
This allows Linzi to continue to expand their core sales channels, confident that there will not be additional operational overhead.
At Last is the returns partner that makes that possible, and Linzi's experience is a clear example of the changes when returns are treated as a strategic pillar of operations across sales channels.
