Returns

Returns shows where the returns of the shop come from, what they cost and what can be improved. You see return rates and reasons per brand, category, size or product, get candidates for size advice and a list of the products with the highest return costs. No customer data is used.

Where to find it

Open Reports > Returns. The page has these parts:

• Key figures at the top: items, goods value, cost, return rate, share without a reason, size as reason.
• Statistics: a table and a chart, grouped the way you choose.
• Size advice: candidates for a hint on the product page.
• Biggest cost drivers: products with the highest return costs.
• Quality of return reasons: how often the reason is missing.

The cost model is behind the button Return costs and thresholds.

What you need

• The permission View returns for the page. It includes cost figures.
• Configure returns to refresh the data and to change Return costs and thresholds.
• Create tasks for cost drivers to turn a cost driver into a task.
• Export return statistics as CSV for the CSV download.
• A connected shop, see Onboarding wizard.
• A returns source: plinth reads the returns that the returns plugin of the shop stores in Shopware. If the source is not set up, the page shows Not configured.
• For the Return rate: finished statistics, because the items sold come from Statistics. Without them the tile shows Sales unknown.

Permissions are assigned in Access.

How do I load the returns from the shop?

plinth refreshes the returns automatically every night. To load them right away:

1. Open Reports > Returns.
2. Click Refresh data. This can take a moment.
3. The line As of: ... shows when the returns were last loaded from the shop.

On the Jobs page the refresh appears as Update returns.

Note: Returns are only known from the time the shop started storing them. For older periods the figures are too low.

How do I analyse the returns?

1. Open Reports > Returns.
2. Choose the Period: 30 days, 90 days, 180 days, 12 months or All. For your own period, fill in From and To and click Apply.
3. Read the key figures:

4. Under Statistics, set Group by to Brand, Category, Size, Season, Reason, Product, Drop-off location or Month. Table and chart follow.
5. Read the columns Cost, Cost per item, Cost share and Top reason to see where returns hurt most.

A click on a product opens it in the Shopware admin in a new tab.

How do I find products that need size advice?

1. Open Reports > Returns and go to Size advice.
2. Each row is a candidate on the level Product, Size or Brand with the hint runs large or runs small.
3. Returns shows how many size returns point this way, Share their share of all size returns.
4. Decide yourself whether a hint on the product page makes sense. plinth only suggests; a person decides whether it is shown.

The candidates come from the return reasons "too large" and "too small". If the list is too long, raise the thresholds under Return costs and thresholds.

How do I turn a cost driver into a task?

1. Open Reports > Returns and go to Biggest cost drivers.
2. Each row shows a product with its return cost, the most common reason and a Suggestion, for example Check size chart and fit, Check images and description or Clarify quality with the supplier.
3. Click Create task. The task is created in the task system of Quality.
4. The row then shows Task created. Later it shows how returns have developed since: the items at the time and the items and cost since then.

The button needs the permission Create tasks for cost drivers.

How do I set the return costs and thresholds?

1. Open Reports > Returns and click Return costs and thresholds.
2. Under Cost model (in euros), fill in the values:

3. Set the thresholds for size advice (Minimum returns per product, Minimum share of one direction (%), Minimum returns per brand) and for the cost drivers (Number of cost drivers listed, Minimum items per product).
4. Tick Values confirmed when the values are your real costs.
5. Click Save.

Shipping costs apply per parcel and are spread across its items. Handling and cleaning apply per item. These values change nothing for customers.

Note: Until Values confirmed is ticked, the page shows "The cost parameters are still placeholders. Costs are estimates until the values are confirmed."

How do I export the statistics as CSV?

1. Open Reports > Returns.
2. Choose the period and the Group by you need.
3. Click Download CSV. The file contains the table of the chosen grouping.

The button needs the permission Export return statistics as CSV.

How do I use returns in other places?

• In a report: add the sections Returns: key metrics, Returns: reasons, Returns: brands, Returns: biggest cost drivers, Returns: size advice or Returns: quality of reasons, see Reports.
• In the sales analysis: Reports > Statistics > Sales analysis, view Returns, shows the return rate per product, brand, size or reason, see Statistics.

Common errors and fixes

See also

• Statistics: return rate in the sales analysis
• Reports: returns sections in PDF reports
• Vouchers: return rates per voucher code
• Quality: the tasks created from cost drivers
• Customer service: returns of a single order