Shipping Refund Consistency
Shipping Refund Consistency shows whether similar returns get their shipping refunded the same way. It helps you spot returns that were handled differently.
How It’s Calculated
The report looks at returns that paid for shipping and groups them by shipping method and by how much came back. For each group it counts the returns that got shipping refunded and the returns that didn’t.
A return is an order with at least one refunded unit. It’s included when:
- It was placed more than 90 days ago, so its returns have settled.
- It was charged for shipping.
- The order records which units were refunded, and the price of each shipping line.
A row of tabs above the table switches how shipping methods are grouped: Rate, Carrier, Source or Rate Handle. It starts on Rate, the name of the rate at checkout. Returns whose shipping method has no name are left out.
The columns are:
- Method: the rate, carrier, source or rate handle.
- Returned: All Units when every unit on the order came back, Some Units when only some did.
- Eligible Returns: the number of returns in the group.
- Refunded: the returns that got any of their shipping back. A partial shipping refund counts.
- Not Refunded: the returns that got none of it back.
- Minority Share: the share of the group’s returns that went the less common way. 0% means every return was handled alike. 50% is an even split. A dash means the group has fewer than 10 returns.
- Shipping Refunded: the shipping money refunded in the group.
- Unrefunded Shipping: the shipping charged on the returns that got none of it back.
- Verdict: Mixed when some returns in the group got shipping back and some didn’t. Consistent when all went the same way. Too Few Returns to Judge when the group has fewer than 10 returns.
Groups are listed with Mixed first, then Consistent, then Too Few Returns to Judge, and the most returns first within each. A totals row under the table adds up the counts and money. Show totals row in the Report settings menu turns it on or off for every report.
The chart shows the 10 groups with the most returns, each split into refunded and not refunded. A bar with both colors is a Mixed group.
The Cards
- Eligible Returns: the returns across all groups.
- Mixed Groups: the number of groups with the Mixed verdict.
- Unrefunded Shipping: the shipping charged on returns that got none back.
- Uncovered Orders: orders more than 90 days old that the report couldn’t judge, because the order doesn’t record which units were refunded, or what its shipping lines cost. An order whose total shows shipping but that has no shipping lines recorded counts here too. They’re left out of every figure.
What Counts
- Orders count on the day they were processed, in your store’s time zone.
- Canceled orders, and orders whose payment was voided or expired, are left out.
- Units canceled from an order that wasn’t fully canceled count as returned, because the data can’t tell the two apart.
- Sales Channel, Segment and Filters narrow the report. There’s no comparison period.
What Good Looks Like
Mixed doesn’t mean a mistake. The report doesn’t record why something came back, so a damaged item and a change of mind look alike. A group where shipping is sometimes refunded and sometimes not is a group worth a look.
- Few Mixed groups. Most groups are Consistent, meaning your policy is applied the same way.
- A small Minority Share on Mixed groups. Only an occasional return goes the other way.
What to Do About It
- Open the Mixed groups first. They’re at the top. Look up the orders in Shopify to see why some returns got shipping back and others didn’t.
- Write the rule down. If shipping is refunded only for damaged items, say so in your return policy and tell whoever processes refunds.
- Check what it adds up to. Unrefunded Shipping is shipping you kept. Shipping Refunded is shipping you gave back.
Where to Find It
- Shipping Refund Consistency: open Reports and look under Shipping.
- Shipping Revenue by Method & Carrier: what shipping brings in, by rate.
- Return Rate Trend: how often things come back.