> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Refund Rate by Channel, BigCommerce > Refund Rate by Channel for BigCommerce stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Supporting Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Ecommerce Platform](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Refund rate decomposed by `channel_id` over the trailing 30 days, with prior-30-day comparison. Different channels have structurally different refund profiles: Amazon's A-Z claim system makes refund rates higher than web; B2B portal's relationship-based selling makes refunds rare; POS in-store returns are walk-up-only and rarely come back through this metric. Aggregate refund rate hides the channel that's actually problematic. | | | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `(refunded_orders_30d / total_orders_30d) * 100 GROUP BY channel_id` with vs prior 30 days. Refunded includes any order where a refund transaction was posted (full or partial). | | **API endpoint** | BC `GET /v3/orders/{order_id}/transactions` filtered to refund-type plus `GET /v2/orders` for the denominator. Channel mapping via `GET /v3/channels`. | | **VAT / tax treatment** | Tax-inclusive on refund computation. The rate is unitless. | | **Shipping** | n/a (rate metric). | | **Discounts** | n/a. | | **Refunds** | The numerator. | | **Cancelled orders** | Excluded from both numerator and denominator (cancellations aren't refunds). | | **`Incomplete` orders** | Excluded. | | **Currency** | n/a. | | **Channel coverage** | All BC channels. **Marketplaces show structurally higher rates** (Amazon 6-12% typical, eBay 4-8%, web 3-6%, B2B portal 0.5-2%, POS 0.2-1%). The alert's 8% threshold catches problems on web channels but is loose enough to avoid false positives on marketplace channels. | | **B2B Edition behaviour** | B2B portal refund rate is structurally low (0.5-2%); the alert's 8% threshold rarely fires. **Configure tighter B2B threshold (3%)** if your B2B book matters; an 8% B2B refund rate would already be a five-alarm event. | | **A-Z claim handling** | Amazon's A-Z claims often resolve as refunds and appear on this card. Amazon-channel refund rate above 10% is a seller-rating concern (above the LSR-equivalent 4% threshold for A-Z claims) and should be investigated immediately. | | **Partial vs full refund** | Both count. Stores wanting only-full-refund metric should configure under Settings → Refund definition → Full only. | | **Time window** | `30D vsP` (rolling 30 days vs prior 30). | | **Alert trigger** | `any channel >8%`. **Channel-cohort thresholds available**: web 8%, marketplace 12%, B2B 3%, POS 2%. Configure under Settings → Alerts → Channel cohort. | | **Sentiment key** | `refund_rate` | | **Roles** | owner, operations, finance | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your BigCommerce data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example A US fashion brand on BigCommerce Pro. Snapshot for 1 Apr to 30 Apr 26 vs 1 Mar to 31 Mar 26. | `channel_id` | Channel | Orders | Refunds | Rate | vs P30D | Status | | ------------ | ---------------------- | --------- | ------- | -------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------- | | `1` | DTC web | 4,820 | 232 | 4.8% | -0.2pp | Healthy | | `1019847` | Amazon Channel Manager | 1,140 | 138 | 12.1% | **+2.3pp** | **ALERT FIRES** (cohort threshold) | | `1019850` | Facebook Shop | 380 | 24 | 6.3% | flat | Healthy | | `12000004` | B2B portal | 612 | 8 | 1.3% | flat | Healthy | | `1020111` | Walmart | 220 | 19 | 8.6% | +0.3pp | Healthy (marketplace cohort) | | `1020114` | POS | 380 | 4 | 1.1% | flat | Healthy | | **Headline** | | **7,552** | **425** | **5.6%** | flat | Hidden alert | What's interesting: 1. **Amazon at 12.1% (+2.3pp) fires the alert under the marketplace-cohort threshold of 10%.** This is the actionable signal. Amazon refund rate above 10% triggers concern about A-Z claim escalation; sustained above 12% raises seller-rating risk. 2. **The headline 5.6% looks healthy and would not fire any alert.** This is exactly why per-channel decomposition matters: aggregate rates hide channel-specific problems. Amazon's 138 refunds (32% of total refunds despite 15% of orders) is the concentration the headline obscures. 3. **Diagnostic sequence**: (a) Decompose Amazon refunds by SKU, find the SKU dominating, (b) check Amazon Seller Central for A-Z claim reasons (fit, quality, late shipment), (c) check whether Channel Manager ship-time has slipped (late shipments cause A-Z claims at 5x normal rate). In this case 87 of 138 Amazon refunds were on a single SKU "summer dress, M, blue", with sizing complaints, identical to a known DTC issue. 4. **The DTC channel rate (4.8%) is structurally lower than Amazon (12%) for the same SKU.** Amazon's customer base trends toward higher refund rates (lower brand loyalty, easier returns) and the A-Z claim escalation pathway. **A 2-3x Amazon-vs-web refund rate gap is the BC-ecosystem norm**, not a problem. 5. **B2B portal at 1.3% is healthy.** B2B refunds are rare because customers test product before placing PO; when they happen, they tend to be large credit memos rather than small returns. **Watch for B2B drift above 3%**, that's an account-management problem, not an operational one. Action priority order: 1. **Apply cohort thresholds.** Web 8%, marketplace 10-12%, B2B 3%, POS 2%; never use a single threshold across cohorts. 2. **For Amazon spikes specifically**, decompose by SKU first. One SKU dominating = quality / sizing issue. 3. **For SKUs visible in Amazon refunds, check DTC web for the same SKU**, often the issue is product-wide and Amazon is the leading indicator due to harsher buyer base. 4. **For B2B drift, contact the affected wholesale customer directly** rather than relying on operational fix; B2B refunds are relationship signals. 5. **Pair with [BC Refunded Products](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/most-refunded-products)** for SKU-level decomposition. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with Refund Rate by Channel | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [BC Alert Refund Rate Spike](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/refund-rate-spike-alert) | The real-time alarm; this card is the trend view. | | [BC Refunded Products](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/most-refunded-products) | The per-SKU decomposition. | | [BC Channel Fulfilment Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/fulfilment-rate-by-channel) | Late fulfilment drives refunds; the two often co-move. | | [BC Channel AOV](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/aov-by-channel) | High-AOV channels with high refund rates may be selling premium items that disappoint. | | [BC Channel Conversion Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/conversion-rate-by-channel) | A high-conversion channel with high refund means misleading product description. | | [BC Top SKUs](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/top-skus) | Cross-reference with refund concentration. | | [Total Revenue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/total-revenue) | Net revenue context (gross less refunds per channel). | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in BigCommerce Control Panel:** [Orders → All orders](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/orders), filter by `Status = Refunded`, then by individual channel. BC does not natively compute per-channel refund rate; the closest is [Reports → Refund Report](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/reports) (Plus / Pro / Enterprise) which shows refunds but not per-channel rate. For per-marketplace refunds: [Channel Manager → individual marketplace](https://login.bigcommerce.com/deep-links/manage/channel-manager) → Refunds tab. **Why our channel refund rate may differ from BC / marketplace view:** | Reason | Direction | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | **A-Z claim treatment**. We count A-Z claims that resolved as refunds; Amazon's seller dashboard separates A-Z claims from refunds. | Vortex IQ HIGHER on Amazon | | **Partial refund handling**. We count event-level; some BC reports count by dollar-weighted. | Either direction | | **B2B credit memos**. We count credit memos as refunds for rate computation; BC distinguishes them in some plan tiers. | Vortex IQ HIGHER on B2B | | **Channel attribution**. We attribute refunds to the original-order channel; some marketplaces attribute to the refund channel (e.g. customer service refund attributed to web). | Either direction | | **Window alignment**. We use rolling-30; BC reports calendar-month. | Either direction near boundaries | **Cross-connector reconciliation (when payment processors are connected):** | Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [`stripe.stripe_refund_rate_by_processor_id`](/nerve-centre/stripe/stripe_refund_rate_by_processor_id) | Stripe refunds match web channel rate within 1-2% | Stripe sees Stripe-paid orders only; multi-gateway stores have additional refunds elsewhere. | | [`amazon_sp.amazon_a_z_claim_rate`](/nerve-centre/amazon_sp/amazon_a_z_claim_rate) | A-Z claim rate co-moves with Amazon channel refund rate | A-Z claims have a 90-day window; rate computation differs. | | [`paypal.pp_refund_rate`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/paypal/refund-rate) | PayPal refunds match the PayPal-paid subset | PayPal includes some non-checkout refunds (manual invoices). | **The per-channel refund rate view is BC-aligned with similar cards on Shopify (per `source_name`) and Adobe Commerce (per `store_id`); merchant-facing semantics are equivalent.** ***
Same-metric documentation cross-reference (for agencies running multiple platforms) * [`shopify.refund_rate_by_channel`](/nerve-centre/shopify/refund_rate_by_channel) (planned) * [`adobe_commerce.credit_memo_rate_by_store`](/nerve-centre/adobe_commerce/credit_memo_rate_by_store) (planned)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **My Amazon refund rate is 12% but my web is 5%. Is Amazon a worse market for my brand?** Probably not. Amazon's customer base structurally returns more (lower brand loyalty, easier returns process via A-Z claims). A 2-3x Amazon-vs-web refund rate is the BC-ecosystem norm. **Be concerned only when Amazon exceeds 12-15%** or when the gap widens beyond 3x your web rate. **Why is my B2B portal at 1.3% so much lower than DTC?** B2B customers test product before placing PO; refunds when they happen are large credit memos rather than small returns. Plus B2B sales reps build relationships that resolve issues before they become refunds. **Watch for B2B drift above 3%, that's an account-management problem.** **The alert fired on Amazon at 10.5% but my web is fine. What's the cause likely?** Most common: an Amazon-specific SKU has a quality / sizing issue that DTC web doesn't see (because the SKU is Amazon-only or the listing copy is different on Amazon). Decompose by SKU. Second most common: late shipments are causing A-Z claims; cross-reference [BC Channel Fulfilment Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/fulfilment-rate-by-channel) for the Amazon channel. **My POS shows 1.1% refund rate but our store has a "no refund except for defects" policy. Why isn't it 0%?** The 1.1% likely covers (a) defective returns, (b) post-purchase staff adjustments (price corrections, sale-application after the fact), (c) employee-discount fixes. POS refund rates of 0.5-1.5% are normal even on strict-policy stores. **What's the right cohort threshold?** Defaults: web 8%, marketplace 12%, B2B 3%, POS 2%. Tighten if your brand has lower-than-norm refund rates; loosen if higher. Configure under Settings → Alerts → Channel cohort. **My headline refund rate is 5.6% but Amazon alone is 12%. Should the headline alarm at 5.6%?** No, that's a healthy aggregate. The whole point of per-channel decomposition is catching channel-specific issues before they degrade the headline. The cohort-based per-channel alert fires at 10% on Amazon (correctly catching the issue) without alerting on the healthy aggregate. **Should this card include cancelled orders?** No. Cancellations happen pre-fulfilment and are operationally distinct from refunds. Including them would inflate the rate without reflecting customer dissatisfaction. **My B2B portal credit memo workflow doesn't write `refund` transactions; will the rate read 0%?** Probably yes. We detect credit memos via the BC `credit_memo` field (Enterprise plan only). For Pro and below, B2B credit memos may not flow into refund counting. Configure under Settings → Refund detection if your B2B workflow uses non-standard fields. **My marketplace refunds spiked but my customer service queue is normal. Where are the refunds coming from?** Likely auto-refunds from the marketplace (Amazon A-Z claims, eBay buyer-protection, Walmart returns). These resolve without involving your customer service team but appear here. Check Amazon Seller Central → A-Z Claims for the recent spike. **Why exclude Incomplete and Cancelled from the denominator?** Because including them would understate the rate (the denominator inflates with non-fulfilled orders that never had a chance to refund). Including them makes the metric meaningless across stores with different abandonment / cancellation patterns. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Refund Rate by Channel* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across BigCommerce and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.