ReturnsIQ — Integrations

How ReturnsIQ makes the rest of your Kernvel apps smarter — and how they sharpen your returns.

ReturnsIQ works perfectly on its own. But it knows something none of your other tools do: exactly what comes back, why, and who's behind it. When you run ReturnsIQ alongside other Kernvel apps, that knowledge flows where it's useful — and your other apps feed signals back that make every return decision sharper. No code, no setup beyond a toggle.

How Connections Work

Every Kernvel app can talk to its sister apps automatically. When you have two Kernvel apps installed, extra capabilities light up on their own — you just choose which to keep on.

You manage these on the Connections screen inside ReturnsIQ (and in each sister app's Connections screen). Each connection is a simple on/off toggle. Once both apps are installed, connections are on by default; flip any one off whenever you like.

Your customers' privacy is protected by design. Apps exchange only the minimum signal needed to do the job — counts, flags, product IDs, and one-way hashed identifiers — never raw customer lists or personal data. The exchange is authenticated privately between your apps. You stay in control of every connection.

The rest of this guide covers the connections where ReturnsIQ is the source — the value your returns data unlocks across the suite — followed by the connections that feed into ReturnsIQ to improve your return decisions.

Net-Demand Forecasting → StockIQ

Run ReturnsIQ + StockIQ together and StockIQ stops over-ordering the styles that keep coming back.

Most inventory forecasts plan on gross orders. But a dress that sells 100 and gets returned 35 didn't really sell 100 — it sold 65. If your forecast doesn't know that, you re-buy for demand that isn't real, and your money sits on a shelf in sizes customers reject.

ReturnsIQ shares settled return rates per SKU with StockIQ — units only, never customer data — so StockIQ can forecast on net demand: orders minus returns. You reorder for true sell-through instead of gross orders, and you stop sinking cash into high-return styles.

Example: a dress that's returned 35% of the time gets reordered for its real sell-through, not its headline order count.

Turn it on: Connections, in both ReturnsIQ and StockIQ. (This is the connection named "Net-demand forecasting" in ReturnsIQ's Connections screen.)

Return-Risk Trust & Guard Signals → AuctionAI, ListIQ & GateIQ

Run ReturnsIQ with your other Kernvel apps and a "serial returner" early-warning quietly protects the rest of your store — while engaged, trustworthy shoppers get the benefit of the doubt.

ReturnsIQ knows who returns responsibly and who abuses the system. It shares that as a coarse return-risk flag (and engagement-based trust signals) with the apps that can act on it. These signals are advisory — they inform a decision or route something to review, but they never silently block a customer, and they always "fail open" when there's no signal to share.

A few ways this plays out:

• Protect high-value auctions (AuctionAI). When AuctionAI checks a bidder before a high-value lot, ReturnsIQ answers with a coarse serial-returner flag for that shopper. A bidder with a history of fraudulent returns can be routed to manual review before winning, while everyone else bids as normal.
• Stop nagging shoppers about what they just sent back (ListIQ). ReturnsIQ shares recently returned product IDs (store/product data only) so ListIQ can pause price-drop and re-engagement campaigns for products customers are actively returning — until the signal cools down.
• Reward loyalty, reduce false flags (GateIQ). Membership status from GateIQ flows into ReturnsIQ (see below) so paying members aren't treated like throwaway accounts — the trust side of the same coin.

Privacy: every signal here is a flag, a count, or a product ID — never a customer list or personal return history. Each connection is an independent toggle, and the receiving app only ever sees the minimum it needs.

Turn it on: Connections, in ReturnsIQ and in each consuming app (AuctionAI, ListIQ, GateIQ). These appear in ReturnsIQ's Connections screen as "Return-risk bid guard" and "Suppress just-returned products."

Not the same as the cross-merchant fraud network. Everything above shares signals between your own Kernvel apps for your store. The separate cross-store fraud network (an enterprise feature) shares hashed fraud signals across different merchants. See the User Guide for that.

Signals That Make ReturnsIQ Smarter

The Connections screen also lights up connections that flow the other way — your other Kernvel apps feeding context into ReturnsIQ so every return decision is better informed. These are on by default once both apps are installed, and you can toggle each one:

• Stock-aware return decisions (StockIQ → ReturnsIQ). ReturnsIQ reads your live inventory while deciding refund vs. credit vs. exchange, so it can favor an exchange when stock is healthy and avoid pushing dead inventory back into circulation. Example: an overstocked returned size is routed toward store credit instead of a replacement.
• VIP-aware returns (GateIQ → ReturnsIQ). ReturnsIQ reads a shopper's active membership tier and lifetime value, so loyal paying members get fewer false fraud penalties and can be fast-tracked where your policy allows. The fraud gate always runs afterward, so a flagged member can never auto-approve a cash refund. Example: a Gold member's clean return gets advisory VIP treatment instead of being handled like a first-time return.
• Wishlist trust signal (ListIQ → ReturnsIQ). ReturnsIQ reads whether a shopper has real wishlist activity. Engaged shoppers are less likely to be serial abusers, so genuine customers get fewer false fraud flags. Example: a customer with five saved products is treated as an engaged buyer, not just a risky return.
• Auction engagement trust (AuctionAI → ReturnsIQ). ReturnsIQ reads bid and win activity as another engagement signal, giving repeat bidders a bounded trust counterweight in the fraud score — without exposing any auction details. Example: a repeat bidder with a normal return history is less likely to be mistaken for a throwaway account.

A note on using these in scoring. ReturnsIQ keeps these connection toggles separate from the master switch that lets it use sister-app signals as fraud context. Both the connection and that setting (in Settings → Sister-app intelligence) apply, so you always have two levels of control. See Settings in the User Guide.

Frequently Asked

Do I have to install every Kernvel app to use ReturnsIQ? No. ReturnsIQ is fully functional on its own. Connections are a bonus that appears only when you also run a sister app.

What exactly is shared? Only the minimum needed for each connection: counts, flags, product IDs, or one-way hashed identifiers — never raw customer lists or personal data. Each connection's "what it does" line on the Connections screen tells you precisely what it exchanges.

Can I turn a connection off? Yes. Every connection is an independent on/off toggle on the Connections screen, in both apps. Turning one off stops that exchange immediately.

How do I know a sister app is connected? The Connections screen shows each link as Connected, Available (install the sister app to unlock it), or Setup pending. Connected links can be toggled; for the others, there's a one-click install button.

Getting Help

Questions about connecting ReturnsIQ to your other Kernvel apps? Email support@kernvellabs.com. For everything ReturnsIQ does on its own, see the ReturnsIQ User Guide.