Return Rate Savings Calculator
Quantify the cost of product returns and estimate how much you can save with better review and UGC strategies.
Product returns are one of the largest hidden costs in e-commerce. Beyond the refund itself, each return incurs shipping costs, restocking labor, potential product damage, and customer service time. For fashion and apparel stores, return rates can exceed 30%, consuming margins that looked healthy on paper.
Detailed reviews and UGC content are proven to reduce return rates by setting accurate customer expectations before purchase. When shoppers can see how a product looks on real people, read about sizing accuracy, and watch unboxing videos, they make better-informed purchase decisions. This calculator helps you quantify the cost of returns and model the savings from improving review quality and UGC content on your product pages.
How to Use
Enter your monthly order volume and return rate
Input how many orders you ship per month and what percentage get returned. Check Shopify admin under Orders > Returns for accurate data.
Enter per-return costs
Include return shipping costs, restocking labor, packaging waste, and any product depreciation. Most merchants underestimate this — $10-25 per return is common.
Enter your current review coverage
What percentage of products have reviews, photo reviews, and video reviews? This helps estimate the improvement potential.
Review your savings projection
See your current annual return costs and the projected savings from reducing returns by 5-15% through better review and UGC coverage.
Formula
Interpreting Your Results
If your return costs exceed $5,000 per month, improving review quality should be a top priority. The most impactful changes are adding photo reviews (helps with visual products), video reviews (helps with sizing and fit), and keyword-filterable reviews (helps customers find relevant feedback before purchasing).
Eevy AI contributes to return reduction by optimizing which reviews are displayed most prominently. The genetic algorithm can surface reviews that address common return reasons — sizing issues, color accuracy, material quality — making them visible before purchase rather than discovered after.
Let AI do the optimization
Eevy AI's genetic algorithm handles the testing and optimization automatically — no manual calculations needed.
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