How Bummer Transformed Its Post-Purchase Experience While Reducing Returns Requests By 74%

Bummer, an emerging D2C brand in India, is on a mission to redefine innerwear and casual clothing for indian  consumers. With a focus on bold colours, quirky designs, and sustainable soft fabrics, Bummer quickly gained a loyal following. Yet, as their sales soared, managing returns and exchanges became a bottleneck that threatened both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

This case study explores how Bummer leveraged Return Prime to help boost its exchanges, automate its returns and refund process, transforming its  a cumbersome manually operational intensive  procedure into a seamless, customer-centric experience. The result? An impressive 74% reduction in return requests, 87.5% faster return management, and an NPS score of 8.5—surpassing industry benchmarks.

About Bummer

Bummer’s core appeal lies in its bold designs and commitment to sustainability. The brand uses specialized fabric that is softer, more breathable, and more eco-friendly than conventional cotton. Bummer has built its identity around the idea that feeling good on the inside is just as important as looking good on the outside.

Since its launch, the company has focused on providing a frictionless online shopping experience. Rapid growth in order volume—doubling over the past few years—helped establish Bummer as a major player in India’s competitive D2C fashion market. However, as order volumes grew, the brand began encountering the complexity of scaling post-purchase operations.

Challenges: Manual Returns Creating Operational Bottlenecks

Bummer’s growing sales inevitably led to an increase in returns and exchanges. However, its manual return management process was inefficient and resource-intensive, leading to:

• Operational Overheads – Four customer support (CS) representatives and the warehouse team spent a collective four hours daily managing returns, diverting resources from other critical tasks.
• Logistics Inefficiencies – Manual approvals and follow-ups with logistics partners delayed resolutions and reverse pickups creating friction in customer interactions.
• Negative Customer Experience – Lengthy return and exchange processes caused dissatisfaction, eroding customer trust and brand perception.
• Scalability Constraints – During peak sales events, order volume surged by 2x-3x, making the manual system unsustainable.
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“As we were growing, our manual returns and exchange process just couldn’t keep up. Our warehouse and CS teams were constantly juggling approvals, restocking, and follow-ups. We were spending hours every day trying to maintain customer satisfaction. And we were in need of a scalable solution.” – Milan Visani, Bummer

Solution: Automating Returns with Return Prime

To address these operational bottlenecks, Bummer implemented Return Prime, an automated return and exchange management platform, over two years ago. The impact was immediate, with the brand experiencing drastic improvements in efficiency, customer satisfaction, and revenue retention.

How Return Prime Works

Return Prime is an automated return and exchange management platform designed to streamline post-purchase operations for e-commerce brands. It enabled bummer with:

• Self-Serve Automated Platform -  Customers can initiate returns and exchanges with just a few clicks on Bummer’s website, eliminating manual calls and reducing the workload on CS teams.
• Custom Return Policies – Bummer has set return eligibility criteria, timelines, and auto-approval options to suit their business policies.
• Smart Exchange Recommendation – Bummer customers get nudged for choosing exchanges over refunds by suggesting alternative products, effectively reducing revenue loss.
• Seamless Logistics Integration – Bummer has synced Return Prime with their logistics providers to generate return labels and schedule pickups. It ensures a smooth return experience.
• Centralized Dashboard – Bummer gets real-time visibility into return trends, it is helping them to make data-driven decisions.

Key Improvements

• 87.5% Faster Return Management – Reduced daily return processing time from 4 hours (4 people) to 2 hours (2 people) while handling 2x-3x order volume. 
• Eliminated Warehouse Bottlenecks – Returns are now fully managed by the CS team, freeing up warehouse resources. 
• Smart Exchange Functionality – Shifted focus from refunds to exchanges, reducing return requests by ~ 74% in one quarter. 
• Seamless Logistics Integrations – Return Prime connected effortlessly with existing logistics partners, unlike most alternatives. Plug-and-play integrations required zero additional development. 
• Intuitive UI & Rapid Onboarding – New CS hires can be fully trained within a day, unlike other explored solutions with the need for weeks of training.

With these optimizations, Bummer streamlined its returns workflow and significantly improved customer satisfaction while keeping operations lean and scalable.

Customer Feedback: A Frictionless Returns Experience

Real customers have praised Bummer’s hassle-free return experience:

“The return process was smoother than I expected. Just a few clicks, and my exchange was processed hassle-free.” – Bummer Customer

“I had a size issue, but the return process was super easy. I’ll definitely shop again!” – Bummer Customer

Future Opportunities: Unlocking Revenue Potential with Upsell & ROI Insights

Bummer is set to activate Return Prime’s Upsell Feature (Wonder Revenue Booster), allowing customers to purchase alternative products during the return process.

Potential Impact:

• Up to 8% revenue uplift from customers purchasing new products instead of refunds.
• Enhanced customer retention by offering tailored product recommendations during returns, Bummer retains more customers who might have otherwise left with their return or exchange request.

Return Prime has helped us simplify and streamline returns as we scale. With automation and smart exchanges, we’ve been able to improve efficiency while improving customer satisfaction” –  Milan Visani, Bummer

Conclusion: A Blueprint for Scalable Growth

Bummer’s journey highlights the critical role of automation in post-purchase operations. By integrating Return Prime, the brand has turned returns from an operational challenge into a competitive advantage—reducing friction, improving customer loyalty, and future-proofing its growth strategy.

For brands looking to scale efficiently, automation in returns management is no longer optional—it's essential.

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