Best Practices for Handling Holiday Returns

The holidays bring joy, shopping sprees… and a tidal wave of returns.

For most e-commerce brands, Q4 is the happiest (and busiest) time of the year. Sales skyrocket during Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year promotions. But just as quickly as those orders pile in, so do the returns.

And let’s be honest: holiday returns can be a nightmare. Your support team gets overwhelmed, warehouses overflow, and customers who were joyful a few days ago suddenly turn frustrated. So how do we handle this post-holiday chaos gracefully?

In this blog, we’ll go over practical, proven strategies to turn your post-holiday returns into a smoother, more brand-positive experience. These best practices are based on the expertise we’ve built at Backsy, where we help merchants simplify returns and exchanges for Shopify stores.

1. Extend Your Return Window for Holiday Purchases

During the holidays, many customers shop early—but gifts aren’t opened until late December or even January. If your return policy sticks to a strict 7–14 day window, you’re setting up a wave of complaints before the new year even begins.

Best practice: Extend your holiday return policy window.

For example:

“Items purchased from November 15 to December 25 are eligible for return or exchange until January 15.”

This tactic:

• Reduces pressure on your team to process everything all at once.
• Encourages customers to shop earlier.
• Builds trust—because people hate surprises when it comes to returns.

At Backsy, we let you create seasonal return rules directly from your dashboard, so you don’t have to manually adjust your policy each year.

2. Include Clear Return Instructions in Every Package

One of the easiest ways to reduce post-sale chaos? Proactively educate your customers.

Slip a small return instruction card into each package that includes:

• A scannable QR code or link to your return portal.
• Deadline for holiday returns.
• Step-by-step return/exchange instructions.
• Return conditions (e.g., item must be unused and in original packaging).

This card is like a quiet customer service rep inside every box. It reduces “Where do I return this?” questions and empowers customers to handle the process themselves.

If you use Backsy, you can customize printable instruction cards automatically, including your branding, return deadlines, and QR links to your unique portal.

3. Set Up a Dedicated Post-Holiday Returns Team

Even with the best automation, returns require human care—especially after the holidays when volume peaks.

Create a temporary task force just for return handling in January. This team can:

• Focus exclusively on return approvals and refunds.
• Respond quickly to support inquiries about returns.
• Coordinate with fulfillment for restocking and exchanges.

Hiring seasonal staff or reassigning part-time help from fulfillment roles can keep things flowing smoothly. It’s better to prepare now than to panic later.

Pro tip: Backsy allows your team to filter and assign return requests, so nothing gets missed.

4. Offer Gift Card Refunds with a Small Bonus

Here’s a smart way to reduce refund costs and retain revenue:
Offer store credit with a bonus as an alternative to cash refunds.

For example:

“Instead of a $50 refund, would you like a $55 gift card?”

This technique has multiple benefits:

• Encourages future purchases.
• Avoids lost revenue from direct refunds.
• Keeps customers loyal to your brand post-holiday.

Many Backsy merchants use this tactic to upsell during the return process. Our system supports multiple refund methods, including gift cards, bank transfer, or discount code, which you can set up per customer segment or return reason.

5. Use a Smart Return Management System (Like Backsy)

Trying to manage hundreds or thousands of return requests with spreadsheets or Shopify admin? That’s a recipe for mistakes, miscommunication, and lost customers.

A proper return system will:

• Track and organize every request.
• Auto-approve simple cases.
• Allow customers to upload return reasons or images.
• Show real-time return status updates.
• Integrate with your shipping carrier.
• Offer exchange or store credit options instantly.

With Backsy, you can:

• Customize your return portal (logo, branding, language).
• Set up conditional logic (e.g., non-returnable items).
• Get reports on return rate, refund method breakdown, and common reasons.

Insight leads to improvement. You can’t fix your return process if you’re blind to the patterns.

Bonus: Communicate Your Return Policy Before the Holidays

One mistake brands make is waiting until January to talk about returns. Don’t do that.

Start before the holiday season:

• Put your extended return policy on product pages.
• Mention it in checkout and email confirmation.
• Promote it on social and in newsletters.

Why? It helps customers:

• Buy early with confidence.
• Avoid surprise dissatisfaction.
• Respect your return deadlines better.

You’re setting the rules of the game up front—and that’s what customers appreciate.

Final Thoughts: Returns Are Not the Enemy

Returns feel like a cost. And yes—they can be.

But when handled well, they’re actually a chance to build loyalty. A smooth return builds more trust than a smooth purchase. That’s why brands that manage returns well often win repeat customers.

As the holiday season wraps up, remember:

A happy return experience = a stronger brand reputation.

From all of us at Backsy, we wish you a profitable holiday season and a stress-free return period. And hey—if you need help managing the madness, you know where to find us

Ready to handle returns like a pro this season?
👉 Explore Backsy’s return management tools