Recustomer Acquires Patent for Technology Automating Return Eligibility Judgment and Procedures Based on Return Policies

Recustomer Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representatives: Yasuhiro Shibata, Shota Tsujino; hereinafter: Recustomer) has acquired a patent (Patent No. 7768617) for a technology that judges whether a return is possible based on customer information, order details, and product condition, and automatically executes the result as a return procedure. With this technology, the company automates return handling, which traditionally relied on manual labor and individual judgments, thereby realizing the provision of an optimal return experience for each customer. ## Background of Patent Acquisition In recent years, with the expansion of the e-commerce market, post-purchase experiences such as returns and exchanges have become crucial factors that significantly influence customer satisfaction and brand selection. On the other hand, the reality for many e-commerce operators is that return policies are merely presented as text, and whether a product can actually be returned is judged through individual inquiries and manual handling. Because of this, customers feel anxious not knowing if they are eligible for a return, while the business side must make judgments and handle responses on a case-by-case basis. This leads to issues such as increased workload and inconsistencies in the quality of response. To address this issue, Recustomer developed a mechanism that, based on the return policy, displays optimal question items for each customer on the web-based return/exchange procedure screen, and automatically judges the return eligibility on the spot according to their input. As a result, customers can understand whether they can make a return simply by answering questions on the screen, and can seamlessly proceed with the procedure. ## Key Points of the Patent Under this patent, it is possible to judge return eligibility based on the return policy, according to the customer's purchase details and product condition, and execute the result directly as a return procedure. This allows processes that were traditionally handled separately—such as presenting the policy, judging eligibility, and guiding the procedure—to be executed as a consistent, integrated operation on the system. 1. Providing a management UI for businesses to flexibly design return policies Businesses can flexibly set return rules according to products, inventory status, and purchase conditions on the management screen. These settings can be made without coding, enabling the design of return policies tailored to actual operations without relying on development or individual modifications as in the past. 2. Dynamically determining return eligibility based on the context of the customer's order information When a customer initiates a return procedure, pre-set return policies are evaluated in real-time based on contextual information such as order details and product conditions. This ensures that judgments are made automatically according to the specific situation, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all rule. 3. Automatically executing the return flow itself based on the evaluation results Under this patent, the return policy is not merely "displayed"; based on the evaluation result, the optimal return flow is directly presented to the customer, and everything up to the execution of the return evaluation is handled consistently. This realizes a smooth return experience where evaluation, judgment, and procedure are not disjointed. ## Value Brought to Businesses and Customers This patented technology makes it possible to significantly reduce the man-hours required for judging and handling return eligibility. Even when changing return policies, it can be flexibly handled with no-code without requiring development or complex operational changes, leading to a reduction in operational load. In addition, differentiating the return experience itself...