Lenient policies usually pay, because many of your heaviest returners are also your best customers.Wrong if customers who returned something early are worth less over the next year than similar customers who didn’t. What Lenient Policies Do
A refund, an exchange and store credit are three different events, and should be counted separately.Wrong if contribution and repeat rate are the same whichever way the return ended. The Economics of One Return
Judge a policy change by what it does to repeat purchase, not only by what it does to return cost.Wrong if cutting return cost has never moved your repeat rate. Repeat Rate by How the Return Ended
Offer the exchange first, and keep the refund one tap away.Wrong if putting exchange first doesn’t raise the share of returns that end in an exchange. Exchange First
Refund when the carrier scans the parcel, not when the warehouse gets to it.Wrong if customers refunded at first scan, in a holdout, repeat no more than those refunded at receipt. Refund at the First Scan
Return reasons are a defect log, and the cheapest return is the one the product page prevents.Wrong if a quarter of fixes leaves your top reasons unchanged. Reasons Are a Defect Log
Add friction only for the few customers whose returns cost more than their purchases earn.Wrong if the customers above your threshold are profitable at your own numbers. Serial Returners Without Punishing Everyone
Never charge everyone a return fee without a holdout.Wrong if a fee tested against a holdout shows no loss in repeat purchase or order value. The Fee Wave, and How to Test a Fee
The law is a floor, and the policy you advertise must be the policy you run.Wrong if your portal, your policy page and your product page all state the same terms today. The Legal Floor