Glossary
Returns glossary.
This glossary defines the terms used in e-commerce returns management — from return rate and RMA to exchange-first returns, instant credit and the EU withdrawal button — in one or two sentences each, with a link to a deeper guide.
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30 terms
- BBonus credit
- Extra store credit (for example +10%) offered when a shopper chooses credit or an exchange over a refund, to nudge them toward keeping the value in the store.
- Read: Store Credit Bonuses: How to Price Your Exchange Incentive
- BBox-less returns
- Returns dropped off without packaging; the drop-off partner consolidates items into shared boxes, lowering cost and packaging waste.
- Read: Box-Less Returns: Cutting Packaging Waste
- BBracketing
- Ordering the same item in several sizes or colours with the plan to return all but one. A leading cause of apparel returns, reduced by better size guidance.
- Read: Bracketing: When Shoppers Order to Return
- CCost per return
- The full cost of handling one return: shipping both ways, labour, packaging, payment fees, write-downs and lost margin — usually much higher than the label alone.
- Read: The True Cost of a Return, Line by Line
- DDisposition
- The decision on what happens to a returned item after inspection: restock, refurbish, return to vendor, liquidate, donate or recycle.
- Read: Return Disposition: Restock, Liquidate, Donate
- DDistance sales (mesafeli satış)
- A sale concluded without the seller and buyer being physically together, such as online. In Turkey it is governed by the Distance Contracts Regulation, which sets withdrawal and refund rules.
- Read: Turkey's Distance Sales Law and Returns
- EExchange-first returns
- A returns flow that offers outcomes in the order that keeps revenue: the right size or variant, another product, store credit (often with a bonus), and a refund last.
- Read: The exchange-first playbook: how to build the ladder
- FFirst scan
- The carrier event when a return label is scanned for the first time. It proves the parcel is in transit and is a common trigger for instant credit and status emails.
- Read: Why First-Scan Events Matter for Returns
- FFit-related returns
- Returns because the item is too small, too large or fits badly. Usually the largest reason group in apparel, and the one structured size reasons and size recommendations can reduce.
- Read: Fit-Related Returns: The #1 Driver in Fashion
- GGoodwill return
- A return the merchant accepts voluntarily beyond what the law requires — for example a 60-day window. The merchant sets its terms, unlike a statutory withdrawal.
- Read: Withdrawal Right vs Goodwill Returns in the EU
- HHeadless returns API
- A returns back end exposed through an API and webhooks so a brand can build its own returns front end in its storefront or app.
- Read: Building Headless Returns With an API
- IInstant credit
- Store credit or an exchange released before the return arrives — typically when the carrier first scans the label — with automatic clawback if the parcel never shows up.
- Read: Instant Credit and the Re-Spend Effect
- LLabel-less / QR-code returns
- Returns where the shopper shows a QR code at a drop-off point and the carrier prints the label, so no printer is needed at home.
- Read: Label-Less Returns Solution, Explained
- RRecovered (retained) revenue
- The value of returns resolved as exchanges or store credit instead of refunds. The headline metric for whether a returns programme keeps sales.
- Read: Measuring Retained Revenue From Returns
- RRestocking fee
- A charge deducted from a refund to cover inspecting, repackaging and reselling a returned item. Its legality depends on the market and on whether the return is a statutory withdrawal.
- Read: What Restocking Fee Percentage Should You Charge?
- RReturn fraud
- Abuse of the returns process, such as returning a different or used item, wardrobing, or claiming a parcel never arrived. Detected with velocity, value and pattern signals.
- Read: Return Fraud: The Signals, and How to Score Them
- RReturn grading
- Assigning a condition grade (for example A — as new, B — minor wear, C — damaged) to each returned item so it can be routed to the right disposition.
- Read: Return Grading & Disposition, Step by Step
- RReturn policy engine
- Rules that decide automatically whether a return is eligible, which resolutions to offer and whether to approve, flag or hold it — by window, category, value or risk.
- Read: Returns automation: routing rules that scale
- RReturn rate
- The share of sold units (or orders, or revenue) that come back. Formula: returned units ÷ units sold × 100, measured over the same period and ideally per product and category.
- Read: What is a good ecommerce return rate?
- RReturn reason code
- A structured value (such as SIZE_TOO_SMALL or DAMAGED) recorded with each return instead of free text, so reasons can be counted, compared and fixed at the source.
- Read: Designing a Return Reason Taxonomy That Scales
- RReturn window
- The period after delivery during which a return is accepted. It can differ by product category and must never be shorter than the statutory withdrawal period.
- Read: Return Window Length: 14, 30, 60, or 90 Days
- RReturnless refund (keep the item)
- Refunding or crediting the shopper without asking for the item back, used when return shipping and handling would cost more than the item is worth.
- Read: Returnless refunds: when keeping the item wins
- RReturns portal
- A self-service page where shoppers look up their order, choose items and a reason, and pick a resolution — exchange, store credit or refund — without emailing support.
- Read: What a Great Self-Service Returns Portal Looks Like
- RReverse logistics
- Everything that happens to goods moving from the customer back to the business: collection, transport, receiving, inspection, grading and disposition.
- Read: Reverse Logistics for Returns: A Field Guide
- RRight of withdrawal (cayma hakkı)
- The statutory right of a consumer buying at a distance to cancel the contract without giving a reason within a set period — 14 days in the EU and in Turkey for most goods.
- Read: Withdrawal Right vs Goodwill Returns in the EU
- RRMA (return merchandise authorisation)
- The approval and reference number a merchant issues before a return is sent back. It links the parcel to the order, the items, the reason and the agreed resolution.
- Read: RMA Data Quality: Fixing Dirty Returns Data
- SSerial returner
- A customer whose return rate is far above the store average. Not always fraud — often a sizing or expectation problem — so they are scored and segmented rather than blocked outright.
- Read: Serial-Returner Scoring Without Alienating Buyers
- SStore credit
- Value returned to the shopper as a balance or gift card that can only be spent in the same store, instead of money back to the original payment method.
- Read: Store credit vs refund: the economics merchants miss
- WWISMR (where is my refund)
- Support tickets from shoppers asking about the status of their return or refund. Proactive status emails and instant credit are the main ways to reduce them.
- Read: Cut WISMR Tickets With a Self-Service Portal