0% returns from Germany

Case study: Granitan

Industry: Home & Kitchen
Markets: DE, FR, NL, BE, ES, AT
Start: October 2023

The problem:
Selling to Germany demands fast delivery.
Cross-border returns usually kill margin and control.

The solution:
A single cross-border model with local return handling via Shopreturns.

The result:
👉 0% returns from the German market
👉 97.6% next-day deliveries
👉 <10% returns overall

About the brand

Granitan is a Polish e-commerce brand with over 14 years of experience.
The company specializes in kitchen sinks and home equipment — heavy, bulky products that are logistically demanding and costly to ship internationally.

After building a strong position in Poland, Granitan started its cross-border expansion, choosing Germany as one of its key growth markets.

It was also one of the most challenging ones.

The challenge

Cross-border expansion looks simple on paper.In reality, Granitan faced 3 critical risks:

1️⃣ Delivery speed

German customers expect next-day delivery.
Delays immediately impact trust and conversion.

2️⃣ Costs

Bulky products mean:

• higher courier fees
• surcharges
• shrinking margins

Every inefficiency hurts.

3️⃣ Cross-border returns

International returns are typically:

• slow
• expensive
• hard to control

Without a local return process, returns become unpredictable — both operationally and financially.

What Shopreturns actually changed

Achieving 0% returns from Germany wasn’t luck.
It was the result of specific operational changes introduced together with Shopreturns.

Here’s what was implemented.

1️⃣ Local return handling instead of cross-border shipping back

Before Shopreturns, every potential return meant uncertainty:

• international transport
• long transit times
• delayed decisions

With Shopreturns, returns from Germany are handled locally:

• customers send returns to a local address
• parcels are registered quickly
• return status becomes visible early

This removed the biggest friction point for German customers — and reduced return intent before it even turned into a shipment.

2️⃣ Faster return confirmation prevented automatic refunds

One of the hidden drivers of returns in cross-border sales is time.

When customers wait too long:

• they contact support
• they escalate cases
• marketplaces trigger refunds automatically

With Shopreturns:

• returns are confirmed faster
• Granitan gains early visibility
• decisions happen before refunds are forced

As a result, many returns never escalated into refunds at all.

3️⃣ Clear and predictable return rules for the German market

German customers value structure and predictability.
Unclear rules create friction and defensive returns.

Together with Shopreturns, Granitan introduced:

• clear return instructions
• predictable timelines
• transparent communication

This reduced so-called preventive returns — cases where customers return products simply because the process feels uncertain.

4️⃣ One consistent return flow across all EU markets

Instead of managing returns differently in each country, Granitan now operates with:

• one return logic
• one operational standard
• one predictable process

This consistency made the entire cross-border operation easier to manage — and safer to scale.

The results (real numbers)

After 6 months:

• 1,712 shipments in total
• 171 returns → 9.99%
• 1,403 shipments to Germany
• 0 returns from the German market

Yes — ZERO RETURNS!

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Why this worked

The goal wasn’t to process returns faster.
The goal was to remove the reasons why customers return at all.

Shopreturns helped Granitan:

• turn returns into a controlled process
• reduce uncertainty for customers
• protect margin without blocking growth

Less chaos. More control.

What’s next

After success across EU markets, Granitan is preparing the next phase of expansion — the UK market — using the same proven model.

The takeaway

Cross-border sales don’t end with delivery.
They end with how you handle the return.

Granitan proves that:

• selling to Germany doesn’t have to mean return chaos
• speed, margin, and trust can scale together
• 0% returns on a key market is possible

Returns suck. We fix them.