Returns are a big problem for retailers. In ecommerce, the average return rate is nearly 25%! You don’t have to grin and bear it, though. Taking the time to understand the reasons for Shopify store returns can help you correct the issue, save money, and build a great reputation for your brand.
What Reasons Does Shopify Allow for Returns?
Shopify gives you as much freedom as possible to run your business. In the case of returns, you set the rules. You decide which products are eligible, what reasons for returns you accept, and how long the return window is.
For its part, Shopify provides a range of tools to create your store’s return policy and manage returns. You can set up return rules that automatically apply when customers try to refund an item, such as shipping fees or product categories that don’t qualify for returns.
What Are the Most Common Reasons for Returns on Shopify?
No matter the reason for returns, they quickly eat into profits, often require extra shipping costs, and waste your time, so finding a solution should be a top priority. Step one is discovering the cause.
1. Clothing Doesn’t Fit
Whether you sell hiking gear, customizable tees, fast fashion goods, or upscale dresses, returned clothing is all too common.
Sizing issues are the leading cause of returns for clothing stores on Shopify. In fact, a whopping 75% of all online clothing returns involve an item not fitting.
Even worse, customers who were waiting to receive their order feel disappointed if the styles they were excited about don’t fit. When the problem happens repeatedly, they may stop visiting your store.
2. Incorrect Size
Not all poorly fitting clothes or shoes are the shopper’s fault. Clothing has notoriously inconsistent sizing, and even more so in a global market. A customer in the United States may order the same clothing size they normally buy in person, only to discover that a dropshipped product’s XL is several sizes too small.
As an example, two pairs of size-6 jeans can be more than five inches apart in real waist measurements. There’s no universal size guide for clothing items, so size 12 jeans can fit one person perfectly and be way too big for another.
Confusing clothing sizes are a problem for all types of apparel. Running shoes, dresses, high heels, and intimates can all vary significantly depending on where the goods are manufactured.
3. Wrong Color
Another extremely common reason for returns on Shopify is color mismatches, which can have several causes:
- The colors in your product images look different in regular lighting conditions.
- The dropshipping supplier accidentally sent the wrong color.
- The supplier ran out of one color and substituted another.
- The customer added the wrong item to their cart by accident.
- The item was a gift, and the recipient doesn’t like the color
Regardless of why the mix-up happened, the fact remains that people feel very strongly about colors. Few customers are willing to accept a blue dress if they ordered a red one.
4. Customer Mistakes
Everyone has made a mistake when shopping online sometimes. It happens to brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce brands alike. Here are a few examples:
- Car owner orders the wrong replacement parts for their make and model
- Homeowner forgets to measure a room’s available space when ordering furniture
- Gift-giver guesses the wrong shoe size for a friend’s feet
- Customer accidentally orders two copies of an item when they only needed one
- Buyer regrets their purchase and doesn’t want it anymore
Having to issue returns can feel unfair when your store didn’t do anything wrong. At the same time, going the extra mile to reassure customers who made an honest mistake can pay off.
5. Product Description Doesn’t Match
People often look carefully at product descriptions when shopping for apparel, footwear, beauty products, and bedding. If the reason buyers made a purchase was because of trending ingredients or breathable fabrics, they get understandably upset when the product that arrives is different.
If a website says that bed sheets are 100% Egyptian cotton, receiving a 50-50 cotton-polyester blend isn’t going to go over well. The same goes for kitchen accessories advertised as stainless steel but really made of aluminum.
6. Item Isn’t Like the Picture
Customers can’t try on clothes online or judge the size of a gift in their hands. Instead, they rely on the product page’s images and videos to imagine what the item looks like in person.
If the item that arrives looks noticeably different from what is on your website, you can expect to get more than a few returns. Sometimes, this mistake happens because Shopify stores change suppliers and forget to update product pictures to match the new design.
7. Manufacturing Defects or Poor Quality
Today’s consumers want accessible prices, but that doesn’t mean they’re OK with sacrificing quality. People expect luxury or personalized goods to be of even higher quality. Any products with shoddy workmanship, cheap materials, exposed glue, or parts that are falling apart are likely to be returned.
8. Damaged Goods
Another common reason to return products is that the items arrived damaged. Depending on your products and the shipping methods you use, there is a chance for items to arrive chipped, cracked, broken, or water-damaged.
The shipping carrier may be at fault; drivers who handle packages roughly can easily break items in the box. Plastic, glass, and ceramic goods are vulnerable.
This issue can also happen if the shipping provider uses an incorrect package size, not enough packing material, or cheap boxes that don’t offer enough protection against the elements.
9. Wrong Item Shipped
People make mistakes, and that includes ecommerce businesses. Shipping errors can pop up anywhere in the order processing chain, from your store to the fulfillment center.
For example, if you still send orders manually to a dropshipping supplier, you might get distracted and mess up a product number. Or the supplier may accidentally grab the wrong item when putting together the package.
10. Package Didn’t Arrive
Now that delivery organizations use high-tech package tracking, it’s less common for items to get “lost in the mail.” It can still happen, though.
Roughly 1.7 million packages in the United States go missing or get stolen a day, but this is relatively low compared to the 24 million daily packages delivered just by the U.S. Postal Service.
Depending on your Shopify plan, carrier, and delivery method, you may have shipping insurance that protects you in the event of lost packages. This is useful if customers lie about not receiving a package.
11. Planned Returns
It’s sad to say, but nearly 20% of online returns are part of the customer’s plans from the beginning. Some shoppers treat return policies like the changing rooms in a brick-and-mortar clothing store:
- Purchasing a bunch of items, trying them on, and returning the ones they don’t like
- Ordering different color variants of the same item, but only keeping one
- Buying several sizes to find the best fit
- Wearing an item briefly and then returning it
Return fraud is a major issue for ecommerce stores on Shopify and other platforms. One analytics firm found that two-thirds of customers are “serial returners” who frequently abuse store return policies.
12. Excessive Shipping Times for the Order
One of the biggest reasons Shopify stores that sell gifts have product returns is that the item took too long to arrive. Some customers buy birthday presents, graduation gifts, or anniversary presents with just a few days to spare.
If the product arrives a week late, the customer may just return it. Personalized products aren’t normally eligible for refunds, though, so it’s important to follow return best practices to make your refund policy clear and easy to locate.
13. Unauthorized Purchases
Shopify stores that cater to kids and teens may face returns from parents who caught their child ordering something without permission. This doesn’t happen often when stores sell responsibly; parents are just as likely to fall in love with fuzzy socks and cute items as their kids. On the other hand, deceptive marketing can push mom or dad to go out of their way to demand a refund.
How Can You Reduce Product Returns?
It’s impossible to completely eliminate refund requests in retail, but you can do a lot to reduce returns by focusing on shopper satisfaction. Using this guide’s list of reasons for Shopify returns, start by identifying the main issues that are affecting the customer experience on your store.
Next, take steps to solve or minimize these problems. Modern technology can help, so you don’t need to worry about doing everything by hand.
Solving Issues With Sizing and Fit
Give your customers exactly what they need to buy the right size from the get-go. Go further than “M” and “XL” descriptors with accurate size charts and guides that explain how to pick a good fit. Convert measurements automatically to the sizes your audience is familiar with for shoes, bras, and apparel.
Reducing Shopper Mistakes
Clearly describe and differentiate your products by using a standardized name format, such as “[Brand Name] [Age/Gender] [Material] [Style] [Product Type] – [Color],” or “Example Fashion Men’s Flannel Long-Sleeve Shirt – Red”.
Include image carousels and videos on product pages to show the items in action. Make sure all photos have professional lighting that shows off product features clearly.
Displaying Accurate Product Info
Keep product descriptions short but sweet. Call out key features, such as weight, dimensions, material, and size. Above all, be truthful, only including buzzwords like “sustainable” and “organic” if they’re accurate.
Providing Quality Every Time
Whether you create products yourself, buy from a supplier, dropship, or use print-on-demand, always put quality first. Choose suppliers carefully and follow through on any customer complaints.
How Should You Manage Product Returns on Your Store?
There’s more to managing Shopify returns than understanding the steps to enable refunds on your store. An effective return policy starts with understanding your customer base.
More restrictive return policies can reduce refunds, but they may also prevent people with legitimate complaints from coming back. Being too lenient can hurt your profitability.
Dropshipping can lead to other snags. You have to understand the dropshippers’ return policies and take them into account.
How Can You Prevent Return Fraud?
A common meme sums up the reason behind many cases of return fraud: “This is why we can’t have nice things.” Put simply, there are always some people in this world who abuse customer-friendly policies, which tends to ruin the experience for others.
Ideally, you need to create a system for returns that provides the best experience for valued customers while minimizing the risk of abuse from serial returners. Here are a few options:
- Rewarding loyal customers with points or special deals
- Solving valid complaints about the shopping experience, such as improving product images or adding videos
- Only allowing returns when the original packaging is intact
- Offering store credit instead of refunds for returned items
- Requiring a photo ID for returns processing
What if you notice that most of your buyers have a legitimate reason for returns? You may benefit from biting the bullet and accepting it. Treating your favorite customers right can pay off, and it’s probably why people come back to your store instead of shopping elsewhere.
How Do Other Shopify Stores Handle Returns?
Browsing return policies on other Shopify stores can give you ideas for your own. For example, cookware seller Made In gives customers free exchanges or store credit for 45 days, with some product category exclusions. Made In charges a handling fee for all returns and doesn’t process them until inspecting the item.
Gritty clothing retailer The Outrage doesn’t accept returns at all, except in cases of defective, damaged, or incorrect items. And clothing “rescue” company Goodfair does the opposite: a complete satisfaction guarantee with refunds minus shipping costs.
Need Expert Solutions for Returns on Shopify?
The top reasons for returns on Shopify vary by product category, but most have the same underlying cause: The customer doesn’t feel satisfied. At Kiwi Sizing, we can help you fix that. Provide feel-good shopping experiences with intuitive size charts, videos, images, and professional-looking guides. Discover smart tools to reduce returns on Shopify and transform every sale.
