Veeqo Credits: Reducing Shipping Costs for Sellers and Driving Veeqo's Growth — Akram — Product Designer

Veeqo Credits: Reducing Shipping Costs for Sellers and Driving Veeqo's Growth

Growth DesignProduct Strategy

In September 2023, we launched Veeqo Credits to assist sellers in saving on shipping costs. I led in various capacities, including product strategy, research, and design. I collaborated with leaders and colleagues from Veeqo and Amazon to successfully launch the Veeqo Credits program at Accelerate 2023.

Veeqo Credits is now Amazon's leading seller acquisition program. It set a new standard for increasing shipment volume, seller activation, and retention while saving sellers thousands of dollars annually on shipping costs.

Role
  • - Lead Product Designer
  • - Product Manager
Timeline
Jan 2023Initial Research
March 2023Initial Discussions and Designs
June 2023Beta Launch
Sept 2023Full Launch

The Challenge

After launching Veeqo in the US, newly onboarded sellers abandoned the product at a high rate. We needed to uncover and understand the reasons behind the lack of success among US sellers compared to their UK counterparts and identify and implement strategic product levers to drive success in the US.

What difference did we make?

Increased US seller retention by

0%

since launch.
Saved US sellers over

$1 Million

cumulatively since launch.1
Increased US shipments by

0%

since launch.

Preview

Some context

A little bit about Veeqo

Veeqo is an order fulfillment platform for e-commerce businesses operating across multiple sales channels in the UK. Its primary focus is streamlining and optimizing the order fulfillment operation while providing integrations for all major shipping carriers.

Veeqo is a free-to-use product that generates revenue by collecting a small percentage fee per shipping label purchased to fulfill an order.

Amazon Smile Logo

Veeqo was acquired by Amazon in late 2021 and launched in the US in 2022.

Following the acquisition, we dedicated the subsequent year to integrating Amazon Buy Shipping as Veeqo's backend for shipping. The aim was to enable sellers to access Amazon Shipping rates immediately without negotiating individual carrier accounts—a process that previously took weeks to months and slowed down a seller's business with each negotiation. Additionally, Amazon Buy Shipping allowed sellers to qualify automatically for Prime Shipping, offering a significant incentive for sellers to succeed on Amazon Marketplaces.

The Investigation

Just enough research

After launching in the US, the Veeqo team monitored the launch performance. We soon realized that while our sign-up metrics were increasing, there was a high abandonment rate after US sellers completed the initial setup.

To understand the high abandonment rate, I quickly implemented an exploratory research approach to uncover why Veeqo was not meeting the needs of US sellers.

  1. Session Tracking

    I analyzed Fullstory sessions of new seller sign-ups to find abandonment and friction points during the US onboarding journey.

  2. Surveys

    I created and ran a post-signup abandonment survey to explore the issues observed in Fullstory.

  3. Seller Calls

    I organized calls with sellers to gain deeper insights into their needs, which proved crucial in defining our understanding of their issues.

Engaging with sellers on Amazon's Seller Forums and Reddit was an effective way to connect with passionate sellers. I could schedule video calls and distribute surveys to a highly engaged community by seeking seller feedback from these channels. These sellers were enthusiastic about their businesses and eager to offer feedback. Some of these sellers even became beta testers!

Major learnings

After my initial observations and collection of the survey results, several themes regarding shipping emerged.

  1. Veeqo was a better fit for larger sellers

    Larger sellers (weekly orders in the thousands) were the most interested in using Veeqo, not the smaller sellers initially targeted in the US launch. They were interested in the bulk shipping automation features that Veeqo provided.

  2. Rate shopping

    Sellers were signing up to compare their shipping rates to Veeqo's. All other features were secondary.

    1. Uncompetitive rates

      Veeqo shipping rates were often less competitive than the sellers' negotiated rates.

    2. Rate sensitivity

      Even a cent or two added to shipping rates drove sellers away. These small amounts significantly impacted their shipping expenses based on the chosen carrier and shipping volume.

Competitive pricing was not enough–the baseline requirement was the best shipping rates for sellers to use Veeqo.

In our attempt to integrate with Amazon, we aimed to give sellers access to more shipping carriers than they can typically access. However, we wrongly assumed that the shipping rates provided by Buy Shipping were the best, which was not the case.

Veeqo after the acquisition by Amazon.

Refocus on the seller

Cross-functional discussions & brainstorming

Once I shared my findings with the product team, I quickly assembled a cross-disciplinary group focused on making Veeqo the most cost-effective choice for sellers. The team consisted of finance, product marketing, legal, and engineering team members.

For confidentiality reasons, I have lightly outlined the artifacts that defined the product strategy and direction below.

We started discussions & brainstorming sessions. As a standard practice, we used the working backwards principle to ensure that the optimal seller experience was always our top priority as we addressed the business problem and understood our constraints.

As the constraints of the challenge became more evident, I began exploring various concepts and presented them as potential solutions during our discussions. I also shared these concepts with Amazon leaders to guide conversations and provide direction for the strategy.

Explored options

The decision map provided was a general outline of the options explored and discussed to identify the best direction while identifying trade-offs, risks, and constraints. This process was an iterative back-and-forth with our team and Amazon leaders to obtain final approval.

A major constraint

After exploring various options, we secured final approval and funding from Amazon leadership, centered around one key constraint.

Confidential information with carriers prevented Veeqo from offering direct discounts on shipping rates. Veeqo had to sell shipping labels at the rates provided by the shipping carriers at the time of the transaction.

Instead of viewing this as a limitation, I saw it as an opportunity for a new growth strategy.

Earlier in the brainstorming sessions, I suggested a credit-based program with several advantages. This program could boost customer retention, provide a continuous product marketing and acquisition channel for Veeqo, and allow for deferred payments, directly addressing the new constraint. This concept became the cornerstone of the solution and one of the key reasons we gained final approval.

The Hypothesis

If Veeqo provided the most cost-effective shipping solution through a credit-based program where sellers earned credits on every purchase, seller retention and total shipments would increase while maintaining program sustainability.

Finding direction

Asking the right questions

I created a set of questions to establish a common foundation that the team consistently referred back to as we delved deeper into the project. We used these questions to ensure internal alignment and to unearth any underlying assumptions.

The following questions have been generalized from Amazon's PR/FAQ to outline and guide product development and strategic direction.

  • How does the Veeqo Credits program align with Amazon's e-commerce seller ecosystem strategy?
  • What is the projected return on investment (ROI) for the credits program over the next 3-5 years?
  • How do the credits impact Veeqo's unit economics and overall business model?
  • What competitive advantages does this program create in the shipping platform market?
  • How does the program support Veeqo's long-term monetization strategy?
  • What financial modeling supports the sustainability of the credits approach?
  • How does this program differentiate Veeqo from other shipping and order fulfillment platforms?
  • What specific pain points does the Veeqo Credits program directly address for sellers?
  • How do different seller segments (small, medium, large) perceive the value of the credits?
  • What mental models do sellers use when evaluating shipping cost savings?
  • How does the credits program change sellers' perception of Veeqo as a platform?
  • What emotional and rational triggers make the credits compelling to sellers?
  • How do sellers compare the Veeqo Credits value proposition to alternative shipping solutions?
  • What additional value can we communicate beyond the direct financial benefit?
  • What are the precise rules and limitations of credit earning and redemption?
  • How did we determine the optimal credit rate?
  • What carrier and shipping service criteria determine credit eligibility?
  • How frequently are credits calculated and distributed?
  • What mechanisms prevent potential abuse of the credits system?
  • How transparent are the credit calculations to sellers?
  • What happens to credits in edge cases like label cancellations or returns?
  • What backend infrastructure was required to support the credits system?
  • How did we integrate the credits mechanism with existing shipping label purchase flows?
  • What performance considerations were critical in implementing real-time credit calculations?
  • How did we ensure accurate tracking and attribution of credits?
  • What database and caching strategies were employed?
  • How scalable is the current technical implementation?
  • What load testing was conducted to validate the system's robustness?
  • How does the credits program serve as a customer acquisition tool?
  • What conversion rate improvements have we observed during onboarding?
  • How does the program influence seller activation and first-time label purchases?
  • What referral or viral mechanisms can we build into the credits program?
  • How do credits compare to other seller acquisition strategies in terms of cost-effectiveness?
  • What marketing channels are most effective in communicating the credits value?
  • How can we leverage the credits program to expand into new market segments?
  • What key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure the credits program's success?
  • How do we track and attribute the impact of credits on seller retention?
  • What dashboards and reporting tools have been developed for internal and seller-facing analytics?
  • How granular are our credit usage and impact measurements?
  • What predictive analytics can we develop around credit behavior?
  • How do we correlate credits with other business metrics like total shipment volume?
  • What insights can we derive from seller credit utilization patterns?
  • What potential fraud vectors exist in the credits system?
  • How do we handle scenarios like account closures or transfers?
  • What financial risks are associated with the credits program?
  • How robust are our systems in handling unexpected high-volume credit scenarios?
  • What compliance and legal considerations must we continuously monitor?
  • How do we manage credits during carrier rate fluctuations?
  • What contingency plans exist if the program doesn't meet expected performance metrics?
  • How can we personalize the credits experience for different seller segments?
  • What additional features could enhance the credits program?
  • How might we expand credits to other services beyond shipping?
  • What machine learning or AI capabilities could we integrate?
  • How can credits become more predictive and proactive for sellers?
  • What international expansion considerations exist?
  • How might we create more dynamic and flexible credit structures?

Determining the credit rate

To determine the optimal credit percentage, the finance team conducted a comprehensive study across competitors and carrier rates to understand industry benchmarks. They modeled different percentages (3%, 5%, 7%) against three key variables: seller lifetime value impact, program sustainability, and acquisition cost ROI.

We settled on up to 5% on eligible shipments—high enough to be materially meaningful to sellers, especially high-volume sellers moving thousands of units monthly, while ensuring the program could scale sustainably. The variance across different percentages reflected carrier agreements and service-level differences. This rate became the sweet spot that balanced seller incentive with business viability.

Positioning as the most cost-effective choice

We established a success metric: position Veeqo as offering the most cost-effective US shipping solution in the shipping platform space. This was informed by our competitive benchmarking and carrier rate analysis, which identified gaps where Buy Shipping could offer better value.

The key insight was that we couldn't change the underlying carrier rates. But we could make Veeqo the most cost-effective choice through a transparent, earned credit system. Rather than claiming our rates were objectively "best," we designed a program where sellers could immediately see that Veeqo offered more value through the combination of competitive rates plus credits earned on every purchase.

Defining success

It was essential to establish a clear definition of success that the entire team, including Amazon leaders, could agree on. This definition would serve as a reference point in discussions, for making improvements, and for evaluating the impact after the launch.

  1. Increase US seller retention

    Increase US seller retention by 20%.

  2. Increase US shipping volume

    Increase US shipping volume by 10%-15%.

  3. Offer the most cost-effective choice

    Position Veeqo as the most cost-effective shipping solution through rates and credits.

Explore

My design process

My design process consists of two major phases: an exploration phase to generate a wide range of ideas and a narrowing down phase to iterate on the most effective concepts with deeper refinement.

Wide exploration

I typically use this phase to identify the right mental model for engaging with sellers. I created various treatments to showcase discounts and credits earned.

I started by finding the best and most logical location for communicating with sellers that Veeqo offers competitive value for US sellers—and the natural place was right beside each shipping label where the cost decision happens.

I then began iterating on different credit and discount concepts and visual treatments. Some concepts showed promise, while others were intentionally designed to challenge my assumptions. I built prototypes to test these assumptions and collected feedback from sellers on UserTesting.com and directly over video calls.

What we learned: Early concepts treated credits as a separate "reward" or "loyalty" mechanic, positioned away from the label cost. Testing revealed sellers cared only about bottom-line savings. This insight informed the critical decision to show credits next to the label cost, making the economic benefit immediately clear through simple mental math.

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The Winner

I discovered that the easiest-to-understand mental model for sellers—which also worked within the constraint—was to show the credit gained next to the total cost of a shipping label. This treatment was optimal because sellers could quickly see Veeqo offered better value by doing simple mental math and comparing them to their current rates on other shipping platforms. This approach also solved for our constraint: we weren't changing rates, we were making the value transparent.

In prototypes, sellers spent significantly more time on this version, completed more purchases, and consistently described it as "clearer" and "easier to compare." This was our signal that we'd found the right model.

Dive Deep

It was time to refine the details. I created multiple prototypes from all the designs shown below. I tested them internally with the team and externally with sellers.

Visual refinement of the credit component: I began by iterating on how the credit amount should appear beside the label cost. Some treatments matched the existing Veeqo UI, while others explored new visual directions to help credits stand out and be more recognizable. After internal testing, I found that the simplest and most impactful option was a slightly emphasized credit amount next to the total cost. It minimized visual distraction and clutter when multiple credits were dispersed throughout orders while standing out from the shipping label cost. Hover and focus states provided additional context without overwhelming the interface.

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Visual refinement of the credit component: After internal testing, I found that the simplest and most impactful option was a slightly emphasized credit amount beside the total cost of a shipping label. It minimized the visual distraction and clutter when multiple credits were dispersed throughout the orders while standing out from the shipping label cost and providing contextual information on hover and focus.

The credits balance indicator: I also iterated on the total credits earned component, which I placed in the top toolbar. This component served a dual purpose: it provided sellers with a consistent location where they viewed their total credits earned, their upcoming payout, and their lifetime credits earned. I designed it to build anticipation for the next payout date while allowing sellers to track their progress with each purchase.

Through design exploration and testing, I introduced the Veeqo Credits Coin—a distinctive icon that became instantly associated with the program internally. The product marketing team soon began exploring marketing concepts around it, and it became central to how we communicated the program visually.

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I designed the total credits earned component to build anticipation for the next payout date while allowing sellers to track the progression of their credits with each purchase.

Once finalized, the Veeqo Credits Coin (as I lovingly coined it) became instantly associated with Veeqo Credits internally, and the product marketing team began to explore marketing concepts with it. The final form for the total credits earned component was ready.

Delight moments: To finalize the beta experience, I designed welcome and payout modals that created moments of connection between seller actions and earned value.

The first modal appeared when a seller earned their first credit (usually after the first shipping label purchase), and another appeared every time a payout occurred. These moments had a significant impact on sellers as they connected purchasing a label directly with earning and receiving credits. In prototypes, they also increased purchase attempts—a sign of improved retention earlier in the customer journey.

I then designed for some edge cases like bulk shipping and the final purchase confirmation credit amount to finalize the beta experience prototype.

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Experiment

Testing phase

I built a final end-to-end prototype to test internally and with sellers before we began beta development. The tests appeared promising as sellers understood the Veeqo Credit mental model well and relayed that to me on calls and surveys.

Beta

I worked closely with the engineering team to develop a fully functional beta version. We focused on maintaining the user-facing simplicity while ensuring robust backend logic. This meant carefully handling edge cases like label cancellations and returns—scenarios where we needed to maintain financial accuracy and prevent abuse while keeping the seller experience straightforward.

We maintained continuous communication throughout this process to balance design intent with technical feasibility. Our priority was to preserve the core user experience while minimizing disruptions to any ongoing projects on the orders page.

The finance team also used the beta to validate the 5% credit rate and promotion length. After modeling different approaches, we confirmed that up to 5% on eligible shipments was the right balance.

One last check

It was time to bring the designs to life. I launched the beta with a cohort of newly onboarded sellers—a key segment we initially struggled to activate. By testing with this group, we could validate whether the credits program addressed the core abandonment problem we'd identified in our research.

The results were decisive:

Increased US seller retention by

0%

compared to the average.
Increased US shipments by

0%

for US beta sellers.

After seeing the success of our beta launch with newly onboarded sellers, we were confident that our solution addressed the core barrier to adoption. The program worked not just for our direct relationships, but for the broader US seller population we were trying to convert. We continued to refine the backend to improve loading performance and address edge cases. The design remained unchanged from the beta to the official launch.

Official launch

Moment of truth

We introduced Veeqo Credits on the main stage at Accelerate 2023. The immediate impact was felt at Veeqo as the number of sellers signing up and purchasing shipping labels increased exponentially, surpassing the observed beta metrics.

The Veeqo Credits program is now the cornerstone of Veeqo's product marketing strategy and is a key value proposition.

What difference did we make?

Increased US seller retention by

0%

since launch.
Saved US sellers over

$1 Million

cumulatively since launch.1
Increased US shipments by

0%

since launch.
Testimonial

Summary

Takeaways

By listening to sellers and making changes that provided tangible value to them, I created a program that helped sellers and Veeqo's growth. The impact on Veeqo was significant and continues to drive growth today.

I walked away with a few key takeaways:

Growth opportunities often emerge from carefully analyzing user friction points. Understanding sellers' rate sensitivity at the label purchase point revealed that a simple solution could simultaneously solve retention, shipping volume, and acquisition challenges, turning a product limitation into a competitive advantage.

It is crucial to adapt to limitations and cultivate contrarian thinking. At Amazon, there was a tendency to focus more on technical solutions rather than simplicity. The key is to identify the best approach at the right time to meet sellers' needs while also addressing the concerns of various teams or reframing them for the seller's benefit.

Effective communication and early involvement of stakeholders can lead to significant impact. While designing Veeqo Credits, I identified a growth opportunity requiring several teams' approvals. By maintaining ongoing communication and excitement for the opportunity, I gained the team's support and initiated what ultimately became a key pillar of Veeqo's value proposition.

Follow-up

After the official launch at Accelerate 2023, the program resonated immediately with sellers. Our support team reported high satisfaction with the credits program—sellers understood it intuitively, found it genuinely valuable, and it directly addressed their core complaint about shipping costs. Rather than chase changes for novelty's sake, I maintained design and program integrity through 2023-2024 while focusing on backend optimization (loading performance, reporting tools) and strategic integration with complementary products.

I continued improving Veeqo Credits into 2024, adding reporting tools and weaving Veeqo Credits into the Veeqo Profit Analyzer, Veeqo's headline release at Accelerate 2024. The stability of the core program allowed us to build complementary features that deepened its value rather than redesign the program itself.

Acknowledgments

Design is a team sport, and I want to thank all my colleagues who helped launch Veeqo Credits. This agile team got Veeqo Credits out the door and through Amazon's requirements in record time.

The team
  • - Aisling (Sr. Product Marketer)
  • - Hannah (Marketing Designer)
  • - Robert (Frontend Lead)
  • - Calum (Backend Lead)
  • - Ashik (Amazon Head of Finance)
  • - Tiffany (Amazon Legal Counsel)