Shop Later

Updated 11 November 2026

Overview

This article explains Shop Later, which gives a shopper who asked for a refund a second chance to take credit instead, after they have submitted. A day after submission they get an email offering a bonus to turn the refund into Shop Now credit or store credit. It covers the policy card, the three email templates, the offer page and the report.

Use the menu on the left to quickly navigate this article.

Before you start

• A return policy with Refund switched on, so there are refund returns to make the offer on.
• Shop Now or Store credit switched on under the same policy's Return outcomes tab, so there is something to offer.
• Shopper email working under Shopper > Notifications.

Settings

In the admin, go to Policy > Return Policies, open a policy, Advanced settings, the Shop Later card.

• Shop Later: when on, customers getting a refund can later switch it to Shop Now or store credit. When off, customers cannot switch their refund later. Default: off.
• Shop Now: when on, customers can turn their refund into a Shop Now order. When off, Shop Later does not offer Shop Now.
• Store credit: when on, customers can turn their refund into store credit. When off, Shop Later does not offer store credit.
• Bonus credit: when on, customers who choose Shop Later get bonus credit on top of their return value, as a Flat rate or a Percentage with an amount. When off, no bonus credit is added. Default: off.

At least one of Shop Now and Store credit must be ticked, or saving stops with Shop Later has no outcome and Shop Later needs Shop Now or Store credit. Tick one, or switch Shop Later off. The bonus is frozen on the return when the email goes out, so changing the policy later does not change an offer already sent.

Configure email templates opens the three Shop Later templates under Shopper > Notifications: Shop Later offer (Shop Now only), Shop Later offer (Shop Now and store credit) and Shop Later offer (store credit only). The one matching the policy's ticked outcomes is sent.

Screenshot

The Shop Later card on a policy's Advanced settings tab

What the shopper sees

1. The offer email, sent once a day to open returns set to refund that have turned 24 hours old on a policy with Shop Later on. A send that fails is tried again on the next daily run, and a send that succeeds is not repeated.
2. Its link opens a page headed Boost your refund: Instead of a X refund, take Y in store credit, with the refund crossed out beside With Shop Later bonus and the items they are returning under You're returning.
3. The buttons: Shop Now with Y, which opens the Shop Now page with the credit and bonus applied, and Take Y as Store Credit, which switches the return to store credit and reads Store credit selected, with the credit sent once the return is received and processed.
4. Under the buttons: Don't want the bonus? Close this tab and your X refund will process as normal.
5. Once used, the page reads You've already claimed this offer. With Shop Later switched off since, it reads This offer is no longer available. When the offer can no longer be taken for another reason, the page states the return's real state: the refund has been issued, the return is being reviewed, it was not approved (with the reason), it was cancelled, it expired, or it has been processed.

Screenshot

The Boost your refund page with its two buttons

How it works

Nothing is issued when the shopper accepts. The store credit or the Shop Now order is created when the return processes, like any other return. A shopper who accepts Shop Now and underspends keeps the leftover rule described under Shop Now; the bonus is a discount, never cash, and is dropped from any part refunded.

The status page also carries the offer while the return is open. The card is headed Extra credit available. With a bonus and only the gift card on offer it reads Convert your refund to a X gift card to use later, with an extra Y included. With Shop Now on offer as well it reads Get an extra Y to find a new product that you love or convert your refund to a X gift card to use later. When only Shop Now is on offer the card is headed Shop with your return credit and reads Use your return credit with Shop Now.

The Shop Later Offers report under Insights > Reports lists each offer with its state (accepted, expired or pending), the bonus offered and the total credit offered.

On an Instant Resolution return there is no offer to take. The shopper sees a card with the return's state instead: in review, unavailable or processed.

Note: The offer goes only to returns still open and still set to refund when the daily run reaches them.

FAQ

Can I change the bonus after an offer has been emailed? Changing the policy changes future offers only. The bonus on an offer already sent stays as it was when the email went out.

What happens if the shopper does nothing? The refund proceeds as normal when the return is processed, and the page says so.

Why does the email show the store credit amount as the Shop Now offer? The template was edited before the Shop Now figure existed. Under Shopper > Notifications the template's line reads This template still prints the store credit amount as the Shop Now offer. Revert it to default or edit it to use {{ shop_now_total_with_bonus_formatted }}.

Please reach out to support@returnzen.app with any additional questions.