Shopify Product Return Rate Report

The Shopify product return rate report helps you understand the return rates of each of your products sold, allowing you to make key decisions about your product selling strategies. You will also learn how to customize the report for more in-depth insights.
Shopify Product Return Rate Report

Ideally, you want products to only leave your Shopify store. But returns are inevitable. They can happen for many reasons, like misleading product descriptions, damages or defects, delivery delays, sizing or fit issues, poor quality, etc. 

While product returns lead to financial losses, customer dissatisfaction, disrupted inventory management, etc., they also present opportunities for growth. Surprised? Let’s understand why.

Examining your product returns lets you uncover a wealth of insights that can help refine your offerings, delight customers, and grow sales. But it’s impossible without the right data, like the return rate for each product. That’s where the Product Return Rate report comes into play. 

This report lists the return rates of your products along with related data. Analyze it to find out the reason(s) behind a product’s return rate, identify an acceptable rate, evaluate vendors and more. Use the insights to improve customer satisfaction, efficiency, and profitability.

Embrace the Product Return Rate report as your secret weapon to strengthen customer bonds and reshape your business to meet their sophisticated needs.

Understanding Shopify Product Returns Rates

Calculating the product return rate is essential for understanding how frequently customers send back purchased items. The formula for this is:

Return Rate = (No. of Products Returned / No. of Products Ordered) * 100

By analyzing return rate reports, businesses can gain critical insights into why certain products are being returned, allowing them to take proactive measures to reduce return rates and improve customer satisfaction.

How Product Return Rate Reports Help Businesses

1. Perform Return Rate Analysis

Merchants can accurately measure the return rate for each product using the Product Name and Return Count fields. This allows them to identify high-return products and understand the root causes.

For example, filtering products by Return Rate % can help detect patterns—such as a specific item consistently being returned due to size issues. By segmenting this data, merchants can decide whether to update product specifications, improve images, or modify sizing guides to reduce returns.

2. Identify Return Rate Trends

Tracking return rate trends over time using the Return Date and Order Date fields can reveal customer preferences and seasonal purchase behaviors.

For instance, filtering returns by specific months or events can highlight patterns—such as lower return rates for seasonal items. This insight helps businesses adjust return policies during high-demand periods, enhance customer support, and plan inventory management accordingly.

3. Evaluate Product Vendors

A high return rate for products supplied by a particular vendor can be tracked using the Vendor Name and Return Count fields. Comparing return rates across vendors can uncover inconsistencies in product quality, inaccurate specifications, or manufacturing defects.

By filtering vendors based on their product return percentages, merchants can make informed decisions about supplier relationships—whether to renegotiate terms, switch vendors, or provide feedback to improve quality.

4. Review Product Descriptions

Misleading or inaccurate product details often contribute to returns. The Return Reason field, combined with customer feedback can reveal common themes such as "Item not as described" or "Wrong size."

By analyzing these recurring reasons, merchants can update the Product Description field to ensure clarity. Additionally, they can refine size charts, enhance product images, or add customer FAQs to reduce misunderstandings and lower return rates.

Take Aways from Shopify Return Rate Report

  • Reduce unnecessary returns by identifying recurring issues
  • Strengthen vendor partnerships by tracking product performance
  • Improve customer satisfaction through accurate product details
  • Maintain financial stability by optimizing return-related expenses

Customizing the Return Rate Report

Report Pundit's Return Rate Report offers flexible customization options to track return trends across any timeframe. Key features include:

  • Custom time period selection 
  • Additional data columns 
  • Customizable filters 
  • Automated export options

Common Data Fields in the Product Return Rate Report

The standard fields in this report are:

  • Product Name: Name of the returned product
  • Ordered Quantity: Number of units sold over a specified period as a part of the returned order 
  • Returned Quantity: Number of returned units from an order
  • Return Rate(%): Percentage of returned products from an order. Calculated as (Total Returned Quantity/Total Ordered Quantity) *100
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