n8n Shopify Return Refund Workflow: Gmail, Claude, Slack & Sheets

Automate Shopify return approvals end-to-end with Gmail, Claude, Slack, and Google Sheets

This n8n Shopify Return Refund Workflow watches your Gmail for Shopify return requests, uses Anthropic Claude to extract the details, checks return eligibility with your JavaScript return policy, calculates the refund in Shopify, collects staff approval in Slack, replies to the customer via Gmail, and logs every outcome to Google Sheets.

What this workflow does

• Triggers every minute when a new unread Gmail message arrives with the returns label (or you can run a manual test with a built-in sample request).
• Uses Anthropic Claude to extract key fields from the email text: order number, return items, reason, and requested resolution.
• If no order number is found: posts a Slack note for staff, replies to the customer asking for the order number, and logs the request to Google Sheets.
• If an order number is provided: verifies Gmail DMARC pass, fetches the matching order from Shopify via GraphQL, and runs return-policy checks (ownership, status, delivery window, final-sale tags, and item matching).
• For eligible returns, requests Shopify to calculate the suggested refund for the selected line items (and optional shipping), then sends a Slack approval message that waits up to 48 hours to approve or decline.
• If approved: creates the refund in Shopify (or simulates in dry-run/test mode), posts the result to Slack, optionally replies in Gmail, and appends a row to the Google Sheets “Returns log”.

Use cases

• Reducing manual back-and-forth for missing order numbers in return requests.
• Centralizing return eligibility logic for Shopify staff using Slack approvals.
• Maintaining an auditable returns history in Google Sheets for every Gmail email outcome.

Technical details

• n8n nodes/integrations: if, set, code, Gmail, Slack, and Google Sheets logging (including Slack notes).
• AI extraction: Anthropic Claude for order/item/reason/resolution extraction.
• Policy enforcement: JavaScript-based return policy checks.
• Shopify access: GraphQL to fetch orders and calculate refunds; supports dry-run/test mode.
• Setup: connect Gmail OAuth2 credentials.