Hubso is a 'one-stop-hub' for influencers looking to branch out into fashion and lifestyle e-commerce.
The company, which went public in 2020, has a simple but brilliant setup — Hubso takes care of the complicated parts of starting and running an e-commerce store.
The influencers leverage their loyal following to promote the store across various social media channels, while collaborating with Hubso to build the brand identity and collections.
When Hubso releases new collections with the different influencers — often at the same time — sales go through the roof and thousands of eager shoppers flood the stores.
For COO Sebastian Schardl, it was apparent that Hubso's mostly manual returns process wasn't scalable anymore.
”Wherever I looked in the organization, returns kept popping up as our number one issue. Excess costs from 3PL and warehousing came from returns. Our customer service was almost exclusively dedicated to handling returns and complaints, and nearly all our customer pain points were related to returns. They were just really messy all around."
Simply put, returns had become a major challenge claiming precious time, money and energy from the whole organization, and Hubso needed some serious housekeeping.
In 2021, prior to the acquisition of Turnr by the delivery experience platfrom Ingrid and the rebranding to Ingrid Returns & Exchanges, Sebastian got in touch with Turnr and started discussing a solution to the growing returns problem. He got a simple offer — implement Turnr's automated returns platform and watch the troubles melt away like ice cream in the summer sun.
Sebastian thought that the solution would make a perfect match for Hubso, and the unique C2C returns feature was of particular interest.
"First of all the solution felt fresh and innovative. And then when I saw the C2C returns i remember thinking, how the hell has no-one done this before? The idea that the customer can send returns directly to a new customer is ingenious, and I believe that in a few years, it will be standard in for every e-commerce store. Plus, shoppers will expect it."
Another feature that caught Sebastian's attention were direct exchanges.
"We know that lots of our customers who return items really would have wanted another size or color, but that they just can't be bothered to place a new order. When they are given the option to make a direct exchange while returning, the probability that they actually make that new order increases many times over."
Finally, Hubso implemented Turnr for LXA, A-DSGN and Sanne Alexandra, its three biggest stores.
The benefits of using Ingrid Returns go beyond the impact of reverse logistics. "Our customer service makes a great example of increased efficiency. Around 80% of their work centered around returns. With Ingrid Returns though, they can let go of a lot of manual, draining work and focus on value building activities. We have transformed customer service into an extremely strong sales and marketing channel, as well as a place for active customer interaction."
"Ingrid Returns makes a huge difference. The stores that haven't activated the product have a massive returns headache."
