Contents
- How to Access the Return Policy
- Terms & Definitions
- Default Return Window
- Considerations
- Recommendations
- Scenarios
- Best Practices
Configure your Default Return Window that best fits your business while strengthening your customers' return experience.
How to Access the Return Policy
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On your Return Manager, visit Return Settings.
- Click on the Return Policy tab.
- There, you will be presented with the Default Return Window (former: Eligibility Window).
Terms & Definitions
| Order Fulfillment |
Once an order is received, items are then processed, prepared and delivered to the customer. The whole process entails packaging, labelling, and shipping. |
Default Return Window
Main Description
Decide when customers can start a return. Your Default Return Window begins when the order is fulfilled.
This time period begins when the order is fulfilled, not when placed or delivered.
Considerations
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The system default is 30 days.
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This return window will apply unless the Holiday Return Window has been enabled for a specific date range.
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Once this setting is enabled, it will apply retroactively.
Keeping track of your inventory and making sure orders are shipped timely can be done either manually or automatically.
Manual order fulfillment: merchants can control when orders are sent. This method could be applicable to certain scenarios, such as those businesses selling products on pre-order or when certain products are out of stock.
Automatic order fulfillment: for those merchants using fulfillment services or selling digital products.
Recommendations
- To have this setting enabled by default so customers can initiate a return once an order has been fulfilled.
What happens when this setting is disabled:
- Customers could cancel an order before it is fulfilled which could lead to associated costs.
- For those merchants issuing credit, steps would need to be taken to tackle those instances.
Scenarios
a) Only one primary Default Return Window can be configured at any given time.
- The return window as configured in the Return Manager will apply when the return is initiated.
- To set a differing timeframe we do make available our Returns Policy Window Tag (rtly-policy-window-days:#) which could be applied at both the order level and the product level. As for the latter, the most common use case could be for seasonal items where a shorter return window is offered to customers.
Note: Tags at product level override the setting on the Return Manager.
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To streamline the tagging process, Shopify Plus merchants could leverage Shopify Flow.
b) Merchant creating a fulfillment event: in the instance of re-shipping an item that was lost during delivery, as it pertains to fulfillment date and updating the Default Return Window for the customer to return the item.
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Within the Shopify order:
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If the item fulfillment had been cancelled and a new fulfillment is created
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or
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If a new item is added and fulfilled
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- Then, a new Default Return window would start for the item.
Consideration: Limit Returns to Fulfilled Products setting (former: Fulfillment based eligibility window) should be on by default.
c) "Non-Returnable" messaging within the Return Center.
Causes:
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The lack of a fulfillment event in Shopify
The merchant has a Limit Returns to Fulfilled Products setting (former: Fulfillment based eligibility window) as configured in the Return Settings tab so we would expect non-returnable messaging until the product has been fulfilled.
Best Practices
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By lengthening the 30-day default window to 45 days or longer, merchants will see a less drastic rise in returns after the default window while reducing the likelihood of a return.
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Surface exceptions to your standard Default Return Window; as an example, apply extended return windows during peak holiday seasons by setting the Holiday Return Window that best meets your business needs.
