Estimate your Shopify return rate, return-related costs, recoverable value, and lost revenue impact. Use it to judge whether returns are manageable or damaging store profitability.
A lower return rate means more orders are staying profitable. A high return rate may indicate product description issues, sizing problems, quality gaps, or a return policy that is too costly.
General ecommerce return rates below 5% are usually healthy, while double-digit rates require product-level investigation.
If 18 of 500 orders are returned and AOV is $75, the return rate is 3.6% and lost revenue exposure is $1,350 before recovery value.
For many non-apparel Shopify stores, a return rate below 5% is generally healthy. Apparel and size-sensitive categories may run higher and should be benchmarked separately.
Improve product photos, sizing guides, descriptions, quality control, packaging, and post-purchase communication so customers receive what they expected.
Returns reduce profit through refunded revenue, reverse shipping, restocking, support time, payment fees, and inventory that may not be resellable.
Free returns can improve trust, but they should be tested against margin, repeat purchase value, and the added cost per returned order.
Products with sizing, fit, fragile shipping, unclear specs, or high expectation gaps usually carry the highest return risk.
| Metric | Use |
|---|---|
| Return Rate | Shows the share of orders that come back. |
| Lost Revenue | Estimates sales value affected by returns. |
| Health Score | Rates return risk from 0 to 100. |