With Retell, we’ve increased scheduling NPS by 38%, and filled underutilized provider capacity, allowing our team to focus on meaningful patient care instead of phone tag.
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AI Returns and Exchanges Calls for Retail and Ecommerce
5.0
ON G2
Returns calls for retail and ecommerce contact centers, and for the BPOs that answer them. The agent finds the order, checks it against your return policy, sends the return link, offers an exchange before a refund, reads refund status from your systems, and takes damaged-item claims with photos the caller texts during the call. Anything outside your rules goes to your team with the details already collected.
Trusted by over 4,000 businesses powering 100+ million calls per month.
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How It Works
Set up AI returns and exchanges calls in four stages, from your return policy to calls answered on your existing support lines.
Write your return policy for the phone
Turn your return window, exchange rules, fees, and damage process into agent instructions and a knowledge base, then connect order data through custom functions and your helpdesk through the native Zendesk or Salesforce integration.
Test on simulated return calls
Run simulation tests with a caller who has no order number, a return outside the window, a size exchange, a damaged-item claim, and an upset caller who asks for a person, and grade every run before a customer calls.
Connect your support lines
Import your support numbers over a SIP trunk or route calls from your contact center platform, then start with one queue, one brand, or after-hours calls before you widen.
Go live and track outcomes
Every connected call returns a transcript and the fields you define, such as return started, exchange offered, refund status given, damage claim filed, and transfer reason, delivered to your systems by webhook.
Use Cases
Returns calls handled from order lookup to the right outcome
Returns started on the call
Need the call that asks how to start a return handled without a queue. The agent asks for the order number, or the email or phone number on the order, and looks the order up through a custom function to your store or order system, such as your Shopify store's API. It confirms which items are coming back and why, checks them against the return window and exceptions you write, then texts the return link from your support number once it is approved for SMS, or has your returns system email the label. Callers who can't use a link go to your team so a label is made for them. For the whole support line, see the ecommerce answering service.
Exchanges offered before refunds
Need size and color swaps kept as exchanges. The agent asks the reason for the return, such as fit, a change of mind, or a problem with the item, and when the reason fits an exchange it offers one first, checking stock through your inventory API if you connect it. If the caller wants their money back, it records the refund method your policy allows, such as the original payment or store credit, and reads out any return fee before it starts the return. Our guide to automating refunds and exchanges covers the build.
Refund status read from your systems
Need the question of where a refund is answered with a real status. The agent looks up the return and the refund where they live, in your order system, returns platform, or payment provider, through a custom function wherever that system has an API. When there is no status to read, it says so, tells the caller what happens next, and opens a ticket instead of guessing. Calls about orders that haven't arrived yet are a different job, covered in WISMO.
Damaged and defective items, with photos by text
Need damage claims filed with proof on the first call. The agent takes the order number or proof of purchase, the item, and what went wrong, then asks the caller to text photos or a short video while still on the line. On Retell Twilio numbers, and on your own numbers registered for SMS, Retell receives picture messages during the call, so the agent can confirm they arrived, and the image link stays in the transcript. It explains which defects your policy covers, opens a Zendesk ticket or logs the claim in your own system with the address for a part or replacement, and your team decides whether to repair, replace, or refund. Read how Anker uses Retell for Tier-1 post-sales calls such as warranty checks.
Damage credits from wholesale and retail accounts
Need account calls sorted before they reach your order desk. For a damaged shipment, the agent collects the product, the lot code and best-by date where your products carry them, where it was bought, and the address for a credit or replacement, then writes the request to your ERP or order system through a custom function. When a caller asks something only your quality or safety team can answer, such as whether a lot is part of a recall, the agent says it can't confirm that and passes the question on rather than guessing. Reorders go to AI phone ordering.
Transfers that reach a person during staffed hours
Need handoffs that land with your team. The agent starts a warm transfer to a number you keep for handoffs, rather than the main line that routes back to the agent, and briefs your rep privately on the order, the item, and what was already done. It can read the current time, so transfers only go out during staffed hours, and after hours it finishes the ticket or claim and tells the caller when to expect a reply. When calls arrive from your contact center platform, Retell can pass call details in SIP headers when it transfers back to that platform's SIP endpoint.
Built for Contact Centers, Not Demos
Retell is the AI Voice Platform Enterprise Contact Centers Run On
Retell lets you build, test and deploy AI phone agents that handle real call volume, so your team spends its time on the conversations that need a person.
Feature
Why retail contact centers and BPOs choose Retell AI for returns calls
Zendesk and Salesforce native, everything else by API
Returns work needs order data and a record to write to. Zendesk and Salesforce are native integrations for finding the caller, reading tickets and cases, and writing tickets, tasks, and notes. Store, order, returns, and ERP systems connect through custom functions that call your API during the call.
Your return policy, in words the agent can say
Return windows, final-sale items, and fees change by season. Your team writes them into the agent's instructions and a knowledge base built from your help center pages and policy documents, then runs simulation tests on the change before publishing it.
Warm transfer with the return already written up
When a call needs a person, a warm transfer plays a private message to your rep with the order, the item, and what the agent already did before the caller is connected, so the customer doesn't repeat the story.
Peak-season volume on the lines you already run
Import your numbers over a SIP trunk, or route calls from Five9, Genesys Cloud, Avaya, or Amazon Connect. Pay-as-you-go includes 20 concurrent calls, Enterprise plans raise the cap, and concurrency burst takes calls above your limit at peak for an added per-minute surcharge.
Returns, exchanges, claims, and transfers tracked call by call
Post-call extraction records the fields you define on every connected call, such as return started, exchange offered, refund status given, damage claim filed, and transfer reason, and sends them to your systems by webhook. The analytics dashboard charts them, and alerts notify you by email or webhook when a metric such as success rate crosses your threshold.
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- Hubspot
- Twilio
- Vonage
- Go High Level
- n8n
- Zapier
- Salesforce
- Hubspot
- Twillio
- Vonage
- Go High Level
- 8n8
- Zapier
- Salesforce
- Avaya
- Genesys
- Five9
- Amazon Connect
- Telnyx
- Make
- Cal.com
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- Avaya
- Genesys
- Five9
- Amazon Connect
- Telnyx
- Make
- Cal.com
Pricing
Cut Costs by 90% with AI phone Agents
Pay as you go
$0 to start.
$0.07–$0.31 per minute – Pay only for what you use.
60 mins of free access.
20 concurrent calls.
10 Free Knowledge Bases.
Enterprise Plan
For companies with large volumes, data or deployment requirements, or support needs.
White glove service for your use case.
Premium support with dedicated solution engineer teams.
Custom pricing and concurrent calls based on your needs
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Does Retell integrate with Shopify, Zendesk, and Salesforce?
Zendesk and Salesforce are native integrations. In Zendesk the agent can identify the caller by phone number, read their tickets, create or update tickets, and add comments or private notes. In Salesforce it can find the contact, read cases, and create tasks and notes. Shopify has no native connector: a custom function calls your store's API during the call, and Zapier can connect Shopify events to Retell. Returns platforms, other helpdesks, and ERPs connect the same way, through custom functions.
How many returns calls should a retail contact center plan for?
Returns follow sales. Retailers estimated that 15.8% of their 2025 sales, totaling $849.9 billion, would be returned, and 19.3% of online sales, according to the NRF and Happy Returns 2025 Retail Returns Landscape report. They expected 17% of holiday sales to come back, and 43% planned to hire seasonal staff to handle holiday returns. A voice agent takes the routine calls in that peak on the same lines, so seasonal staff can work the exceptions.
Can the agent approve refunds and spot return fraud?
It applies the rules you write: the return window, final-sale items, condition questions, and which requests it can start on its own through your systems. High-value refunds, disputes, and anything your rules flag go to your team. The same NRF report found 9% of all returns are fraudulent, so the agent collects the details and flags the patterns you define, and a person decides.
What happens when a caller asks for a person?
The agent transfers to the number you set and briefs your rep privately before connecting. Use a number reserved for transfers rather than the main support line, so the call doesn't route back to the agent. You can limit transfers to staffed hours. After hours, the agent finishes the ticket or claim, tells the caller when to expect a reply, and the transcript and fields reach your team by webhook.
Can a BPO run returns calls for several retail clients?
Yes. Each client gets its own agent, return policy, knowledge base, and transfer numbers, with each client's number bound to its agent. The inbound webhook can also pick the agent and set details per call, and post-call data goes to each client's helpdesk or CRM. See AI customer support for BPOs for the wider setup.
How much does an AI returns agent cost on Retell?
Retell bills per minute of conversation, and the rate depends on the language model, voice, telephony, and add-ons you choose. Pay-as-you-go has no contract or minimum and includes 20 concurrent calls. Enterprise plans have custom pricing and higher concurrency for contact centers and BPOs with large volumes. See pricing for your mix.
