Returns and exchanges · refund, store credit and eligibility
The Returns tab shows how many returns there are, how many became refunds, how many became exchanges and the exchange rate. Each row carries the reason, whether it falls within the policy window, how much was refunded and how much became store credit, in separate columns on purpose.
A return is the moment a store shows who it is. Handled well, it keeps the customer; handled badly, it costs the customer and turns into a public complaint on top. This tab exists so you can see the after-sales picture with the two numbers that matter side by side: how much money went back to the customer and how much stayed in the house as credit.
Where to find it
- Open Retail in the side menu.
- Click the Returns tab.
- Read the four cards at the top first, then the list below them.
The four indicators at the top
- Returns: the total on record.
- Refunded: how many ended with money back to the customer.
- Exchanged: how many ended in an exchange.
- Exchange rate: the proportion of exchanges to the total, as a percentage with one decimal place.
The exchange rate is the health indicator for your policy. A very low rate usually means exchanging is too hard, so the customer takes the money and leaves. A rate that is too high, with many returns of the same item, usually points to a product or description problem, and then the Reviews tab is the next place to look.
The list of returns
Each row carries Reason, Eligibility, Refund, Store credit and Status. Refund and Store credit sit in separate columns because they are different things: a refund is the customer's right, while credit is an offer from the store, often with a bonus. Merging the two into a single column is where the friction starts, because it hides which of the two paths the store is actually offering.
The Eligibility column shows Within policy when the return fits, or the reason for refusal when it does not, highlighted. If the policy did not supply its own reason, Outside policy appears. A refusal with no written reason turns into a call to support, and that is exactly what the column prevents: whoever reads the row already knows what to tell the customer.
Limits and common questions
- This tab is read only. Approving a return, paying a refund and issuing credit still happen in your sales system, and the CRM reflects the result.
- A blank value under Refund or Store credit means that path was not used on that return, not that the amount is an unknown zero.
- No return recorded means the sync has not brought returns in yet, not that the store had none.
- The indicators at the top cover everything on record in the organization, with no period filter on this screen.
- The Retail vertical has to be on to see the tab.