Method and system for determining return options for inventory items

A system for determining a return option for a customer of a retail enterprise, the system comprising:

• a computing system including one or more enterprise computing devices, the computing system including at least one processor and a memory subsystem including at least one memory device, the memory subsystem communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the memory subsystem storing a customer attribute database and instructions executable to provide a customer risk assessment tool and a returns processing service tool, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the computing system to:
• receive, from a customer at a customer account page of a retail website, a request to return a previously-ordered inventory item, the request identifying the previously-ordered inventory item;
• receive customer attributes of a customer associated with an order including the previously-ordered inventory item, the customer attributes including a customer profile, historical sales order metrics, and historical return metrics from a customer attribute database;
• determine, at the customer risk assessment tool, a risk score for the customer, wherein the risk score is based, at least in part, on the customer attributes and one or more rules managed by the customer risk assessment tool;
• based on the risk score and the item attributes, automatically determine at least one return processing option for the customer at the returns processing service tool, wherein the at least one return processing option is presented to the customer for selection;
• and
• return the determined at least one return processing option to be provided to the customer within a return user interface of the retail website.

A method of determining a return option for a customer of a retail enterprise, the method comprising:

• submitting, from a first customer, a first customer log-in at a retail website;
• submitting a first request, from the first customer at a customer account page of the retail website, the first request to return a first previously-ordered inventory item, the first request identifying a first previously-ordered inventory item;
• submitting a second request from the first customer at a customer account page of the retail website, the second request to return a second previously-ordered inventory item, the second request identifying the second previously-ordered inventory item;
• and
• based on the first previously-ordered inventory item and customer attributes of the first customer including a customer profile, historical sales order metrics, and historical return metrics, receiving a first set of return processing options selected from among a collection of possible return options for the first previously-ordered inventory item;
• based on the second previously-ordered inventory item and customer attributes of the first customer including a customer profile, historical sales order metrics, and historical return metrics, receiving a second set of return processing options selected from among a collection of possible return options for the second previously-ordered inventory item, wherein the second set of return processing options includes at least one different return processing option as compared to the first set of return processing options.