Post-purchase and winback for online stores: four no-code AI steps
For store owners who answer the same shipping and return emails by hand and send one discount to everyone: find return reasons, write policy-true replies, group buyers and write a plain winback.
- Setup
- An afternoon with your order export
- Your time
- You approve every reply and send every email yourself
This is what the setup aims for, not a measured result.
Find why buyers return items and fix it before the box arrives
Return notes and low reviews often point to the same few misunderstandings, such as sizing, setup or what's included. Answering them before delivery and on the product page can head some of them off.
Copy 15–50 recent return reasons, 1–3-star reviews or pre-purchase questions. Remove names, emails and order numbers. Paste them with the prompt.
PromptWritten by our editors Act as an ecommerce retention analyst for [BRAND_NAME], which sells [PRODUCT_CATEGORY]. Below are recent return reasons, low reviews and customer questions (personal details removed): [PASTE_NOTES] 1. Root causes: group these into the top 3 preventable misunderstandings. For each, give how many notes mention it and quote 2 short examples. 2. "While your order ships" email: write a friendly email, sent the day after purchase, that answers those 3 misunderstandings with practical tips. Use only facts from the notes and from this product info: [PRODUCT_FACTS]. 3. Product page fixes: write 3 short bullets for the top of the product page that set the right expectations before checkout. 4. List any issue that looks like a product defect or a shipping problem rather than a misunderstanding, so I can handle it separately.Write saved support replies that follow your real policy
Saved replies keep answers fast and consistent. Offering an exchange or store credit next to a refund gives the customer a choice, but every reply must match your published policy.
Paste your actual return, exchange, shipping and damage policy text. Run the prompt, check each reply against the policy, then save them as templates in your help desk (Gorgias calls them macros) or Gmail.
PromptWritten by our editors Here is our store policy, word for word: [PASTE_POLICY_TEXT] Write 5 short, friendly customer-support replies for [BRAND_NAME] that follow this policy exactly: 1. Return request: thank them, then offer two choices: (A) an exchange or store credit [CREDIT_OFFER], or (B) standard refund steps under our policy. 2. "Where is my order?" (stuck in transit): explain the tracking status in plain words and say what we will do and when, using only our policy: [LOST_PACKAGE_RULE]. 3. Arrived damaged: apologize and explain the next step under our damage policy (photo request, replacement or refund). 4. Cancel or change an order: one version for orders not yet fulfilled, one for orders already shipped. 5. Subscription pause: offer a skip or a frequency change before cancelling, if our policy allows it. Rules: never promise credit amounts, free replacements, deadlines or refunds the policy doesn't state. Where the policy is silent, write [POLICY GAP: decide] instead of inventing a rule. Use [CUSTOMER_NAME] and [ORDER_NUMBER] as placeholders.Group past buyers from an order export
A customer who has ordered four times and a customer who only buys on sale need different messages. Grouping them first keeps you from sending everyone the same coupon.
In Shopify, go to Orders, click Export and choose a date range. Shopify's customer export only has totals ("Total Spent", "Total Orders"), so use the order export for dates and products. In a copy, delete name, phone and address columns, replace each email with a code (Customer 001…), keep "Created at", "Lineitem name", "Lineitem quantity", "Lineitem price", "Discount Code". Upload with the prompt.
PromptWritten by our editors Act as an ecommerce data analyst. I've attached an order export with personal details removed. Each row is an order line with: Customer code, Created at (order date), Lineitem name, Lineitem quantity, Lineitem price, Discount Code. Entry products: [ENTRY_PRODUCTS]. Companion products: [COMPANION_PRODUCTS]. Today's date: [TODAY]. 1. Repeat timing: for customers with 2 or more orders, give the median days between order 1 and order 2 and how many customers that is based on. 2. Build three segments. Show the exact rule and the customer count for each: - A, Lapsed regulars: [MIN_ORDERS]+ orders and no order in the last [LAPSE_DAYS] days. - B, One-time entry buyers: one order, containing an entry product, placed [MIN_DAYS]–[MAX_DAYS] days ago, and no companion product. - C, Discount-only buyers: every order used a discount code. 3. For each entry product, the product most often bought next, with counts. If fewer than [MIN_COUNT] customers support a finding, say the data is too thin. 4. Write each rule in plain words so I can rebuild it in [EMAIL_TOOL]. Show your working and don't invent numbers.Delete name, email, phone and address columns before uploading an export.
Write a plain 3-email winback from the founder
A short, plain note from the owner can feel more personal than a designed promo email. Send it only to people who agreed to get marketing email.
Use segment B from step 3. Load the three emails into your email tool as a flow, timed from the repeat window you found. Include your unsubscribe link and postal address.
PromptWritten by our editors Write a 3-email plain-text winback sequence for customers who bought [HERO_PRODUCT] [X] days ago and haven't ordered again. These customers opted in to email marketing. Rules: - Write as short personal notes from [FOUNDER_NAME], founder of [BRAND_NAME]. No banners or heavy formatting. - Email 1 (Day [X]): ask how [HERO_PRODUCT] is working for them, share one practical tip from this list: [TIPS], and mention [COMPANION_PRODUCT] as a natural next step. - Email 2 (Day [X+7]): offer [OFFER] for past customers. Mention an end date only if it's real: [OFFER_END_DATE]. - Email 3 (Day [X+14]): four sentences asking whether they switched, don't need more yet, or had a problem we can fix, inviting a direct reply. - Every email: an honest subject line, and end with the placeholders [UNSUBSCRIBE_LINK] and [POSTAL_ADDRESS].Only email customers who opted in, and include a postal address and opt-out link.
Guardrails
- Strip personal data before uploading: delete name, email, phone and address columns and replace emails with a code you keep in your own sheet.
- Saved replies must match your published return, exchange, shipping and damage policy. Don't promise anything your policy doesn't say.
- Shopify: "Only send marketing emails to customers who have opted in". CAN-SPAM needs a postal address and an opt-out honored "within 10 business days".
- Only state a deadline in a winback email if it is real.
Business fit
Apparel and footwear stores: find the sizing questions behind returns and answer them on the product page.
Shopify & ecommerceStores with repeat products: email lapsed buyers a plain note from the founder instead of a site-wide discount.
Shopify & ecommerce
Use cases behind it
- Evidence grade CAutomate order-status and return tickets on a Shopify storeVendor or secondhand, using Gorgias
- Evidence grade DClaude Picked a Slow Product and Segment From Omnisend Data, and the Email Brought In $26,619Light evidence, using Claude, Omnisend and Shopify
- Evidence grade DBuild a Neutral Chargeback Response Packet With Claude or ChatGPTLight evidence, using Claude, ChatGPT and Stripe
- Evidence grade BRun customer support with a bot that asks before refundingStrong evidence, using Grok Bot
