Route
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersLehi, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Route firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Route
- Legal name
- Route
- Website
- https://route.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Route industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Ecommerce Post-Purchase Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- akta.pro primary industry
- International DTC & Brand.com (Global Shipping) (CRAFAJAB)
Keywords
Where Route is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lehi
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Route business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Post-purchase protection and tracking services: Route generates revenue by providing post-purchase package protection, tracking, and returns services to ecommerce brands. The platform protects over $15 billion in merchandise and serves over 13,000 brands, suggesting a transaction/protection fee model based on merchandise value protected.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Route product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Route operates a post-purchase SaaS platform for ecommerce brands, providing package protection against loss, theft, and damage, visual order tracking, and AI-powered automated resolution of shipping issues. The platform serves over 13,000 brands, protects more than $15 billion in merchandise, and integrates returns management through its acquisition of Frate Returns, enabling merchants to consolidate tracking, protection, and returns in a single unified solution.
Product overview
Route offers a unified post-purchase platform for ecommerce brands consisting of its core Route platform (package protection and visual order tracking), Route AI (AI-powered automatic issue resolution), and the acquired Frate Returns (exchange-first returns technology). The platform serves over 13,000 brands and protects over $15 billion in merchandise, aiming to enhance customer loyalty and retention by resolving post-purchase shipping issues.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Route AI: An artificial intelligence platform trained on seven years of data and billions of data points to monitor and automatically resolve post-purchase shipping issues such as loss, theft, and damage for fashion and ecommerce brands. The system tracks carrier performance, merchant policies, and customer interactions in real time, executing solutions that may include issuing refunds, reshipping products, or intervening with carriers.
Products and services
- Route Platform Core post-purchase SaaS platform for ecommerce brands offering package protection against loss, theft, and damage, and visual order tracking. Used by merchants to add shipment protection at checkout, provide branded tracking experiences, and resolve shipping issues through automated workflows.
- Route AI Artificial intelligence platform trained on seven years of data and billions of data points that monitors and automatically resolves post-purchase shipping issues including loss, theft, and damage. Tracks carrier performance, merchant policies, and customer interactions in real time, executing solutions such as issuing refunds, reshipping products, or intervening with carriers.
- Frate Returns Returns and exchanges platform for modern ecommerce brands featuring AI-driven exchange-first returns workflows with image verification, designed to help merchants reduce refund-related losses and operating costs while retaining revenue through exchanges rather than refunds.
Quantifiable outcome
- Faster resolutions and reduced customer support volume during peak periods for fashion merchants
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Route
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Route technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature3 records
Route partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Frate ReturnscoreRoute acquired Frate Returns, a returns and exchanges platform designed for modern ecommerce brands. The acquisition integrates Frate's AI-driven exchange-first returns technology with Route's package protection and visual order tracking capabilities to create a unified post-purchase platform for merchants. Route CEO Eric Kobe stated that the acquisition redefines the standard for how merchants engage with and retain shoppers after the sale.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Route competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aftership: Aftership provides shipment tracking, delivery notifications, and post-purchase analytics for ecommerce merchants. It directly overlaps with Route's core tracking and notification capabilities and serves a similar SMB-to-mid-market DTC merchant base.
- Loop Returns: Loop Returns is an exchange-first returns management platform for ecommerce brands. It directly competes with the Frate Returns offering Route acquired and targets the same merchant pain point of reducing refund rates and retaining revenue through exchanges.
- Happy Returns (UPS): Happy Returns, owned by UPS, provides box-free returns and exchanges for DTC and omnichannel retailers. It is a direct competitor in the merchant returns orchestration space, especially for branded return drop-off and exchanges.
- Narvar: Narvar offers post-purchase experience software spanning branded tracking, returns, and notifications for enterprise retailers. It competes with Route across the post-purchase stack and shares a similar AI-and-data narrative around reducing support volume.
- Returnly (Affirm): Returnly, acquired by Affirm, provides returns and exchanges automation for ecommerce brands. It is a direct competitor to the Frate Returns piece of Route's platform and targets the same exchange-first, refund-reduction use case.
- ParcelLab: ParcelLab provides post-purchase experience software including branded tracking pages, delivery notifications, and returns management. It is a direct competitor in the post-purchase notification and returns experience category, especially with European retailers.
- Sorted: Sorted offers delivery management, tracking, and returns orchestration software for retailers. It competes with Route across shipment tracking and post-purchase operational workflows.
Broad incumbents
- Shippo: Shippo is a shipping API and platform that helps ecommerce merchants generate labels and access carrier rates. It is adjacent to Route's logistics-monitoring functionality but more focused on label generation than post-purchase protection.
- Shopify (Shop App): Shopify's Shop App provides order tracking, delivery notifications, and increasingly post-purchase features to merchants and consumers. As Route's primary platform and distribution partner, Shopify is both an enabler and a latent competitor.
- ShipStation: ShipStation (Stamps.com) is a multi-carrier shipping and label management platform for SMB and mid-market merchants. It overlaps with Route in logistics workflow and merchant base, though focused more on outbound shipping than post-purchase.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Route social profiles
Digital presenceRoute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Route leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Route subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Route funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors19 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Route M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Route
What does Route do?
Route operates a post-purchase SaaS platform for ecommerce brands, providing package protection against loss, theft, and damage, visual order tracking, and AI-powered automated resolution of shipping issues. The platform serves over 13,000 brands, protects more than $15 billion in merchandise, and integrates returns management through its acquisition of Frate Returns, enabling merchants to consolidate tracking, protection, and returns in a single unified solution.
Is Route a public or private company?
Route is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Route founded?
Route was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Route based?
Route is headquartered in Lehi, United States, in the North America region.
How does Route make money?
One revenue line is on record: post-purchase protection and tracking services.
Who are Route's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aftership, Loop Returns, Happy Returns (UPS), Narvar, Returnly (Affirm), ParcelLab and Sorted. Broad incumbents are Shippo, Shopify (Shop App) and ShipStation.
Does Route have an API?
No public API is recorded for Route.
What industry is Route in?
Route's product category is Ecommerce Post-Purchase Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAJAB, International DTC & Brand.com (Global Shipping). Its NAICS code is 518.