Returns cost report

This report shows the full cost of returns beyond the refund - return labels, handling, lost product value, and wasted marketing - plus your return rate and the profit you would recover by cutting returns.

What it shows

• Summary cards: the total cost of returns and what share of revenue that is, the return rate by refunded value, and the return rate by order count.
• A full cost breakdown, grouped: return labels, in-store (POS) return handling, refunded shipping, and unrecovered payment fees; handling and labor, returns-platform fees, packaging, and other return costs; lost product value for items that cannot be resold; and wasted marketing (ad spend on orders that were later returned). Offsets that reduce the cost are subtracted: restocking fees you charged and return shipping the customer paid. The group ends with a total return impact.
• A returns overview: returned orders, refunded value, units returned, restock rate, inventory value recovered, average cost per return, and net margin after returns.
• What is driving returns: your most returned products, returns by vendor, and the return reasons Shopify recorded.
• A recovery projection: if you cut your return rate by a set amount, how much you recover and your projected net profit and margin. It also flags how much of your refunded value comes from customers who return more than once.

Filters and options

• Date range picker.
• Compare to the previous period, the previous year, or a custom range.
• Schedule report: email it weekly, monthly, or quarterly with the data attached as a CSV.
• Export data: download the report as a CSV (Business plan).

If some returned orders have no return cost rule, a banner tells you the cost is understated and links to Cost rules, Returns to fix it.

How to read it

Start with the total return impact, then look at the most returned products and the recovery projection. The recovery table turns "returns are high" into a concrete profit number you can chase.