At a glance
Cancellation Rate is the share of Target Plus orders cancelled over the period, whether seller-initiated or driven by a stock-out, compared against the prior period. Cancelled guest orders damage the partner relationship, so Target watches cancellation closely as a fulfilment-health signal. A rising rate usually points to inventory drift between your source of truth and what Target shows as sellable. Keeping it low protects both guest experience and your partner standing.
| What it counts | The percentage of orders cancelled in the period, including seller-initiated and stock-out cancellations, versus the prior period. |
| Sample type | Backend API data from Target Plus, refreshed on the standard data refresh. |
| Why it matters | High cancellation is a fulfilment-health red flag Target watches, since cancelled guest orders erode trust and feed into how Target reviews partner standing. |
| Reading the value | Read it against the prior-period comparison: a small steady rate is normal, but an upward move warrants investigation into stock accuracy. |
| Currency | percent |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | >2% |
| Sentiment key | tgt_cancellation_rate |
| Roles | owner, operations |
Calculation
Vortex IQ divides the number of cancelled Target Plus orders by total orders over the trailing 30 days and expresses the result as a percentage, then compares it against the equivalent prior 30-day window so you can see the direction of travel. Both seller-initiated cancellations and stock-out cancellations are included, since both register against the partner from Target’s perspective. The prior-period comparison is what makes a small absolute rate meaningful, because a jump from a low baseline is the early signal worth acting on. See the worked example below for how a stock-out wave moves the rate.Worked example
A representative reading of Cancellation Rate for a typical Target Plus partner. For the 30 days to 18 Jun 26 a toys partner sees cancellation rate climb to 3.1%, up from 1.4% in the prior period, tripping the alert above 2%. Drilling in, most cancellations are stock-outs on three fast-selling SKUs that sold through on BigCommerce but stayed listed as sellable on Target Plus. The operations lead checksactive-target-plus-listings-for-oos-skus-on-bc, confirms the drift, and tightens the inventory sync so Target stops accepting orders it cannot fulfil. By the next period the rate settles back under 2%. Use Vortex Mind to trace whether cancellations cluster on specific SKUs or a sync gap, and ask Ask Viq “why did my cancellation rate rise this month?”.
Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
on-time-dispatch-rate-partner-sla | The other half of fulfilment health; cancellations and late dispatches are watched together. |
late-dispatch-rate-partner-penalty | Shows the penalty side of fulfilment misses alongside cancellations. |
pending-dispatch | Orders awaiting dispatch that may end up cancelled if stock is short. |
return-rate | Pairs with cancellations as a post-purchase satisfaction and accuracy signal. |
active-target-plus-listings-for-oos-skus-on-bc | The most common root cause: listings live on Target while out of stock on BigCommerce. |
Reconciling against Target Plus Partners
Where to look in the Target Plus Partners portal: Open the Partner scorecard and the order reports, where cancellation is tracked as a fulfilment metric alongside on-time dispatch. The portal shows cancelled orders and the cancellation reason; this card turns those into a period rate with a prior-period comparison so you can see whether the trend is improving or worsening. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Period boundary | Vortex IQ uses a trailing 30-day window; the portal scorecard may use a fixed review window | Align the portal date range to the same trailing window before comparing rates. |
| Time zone | An order cancelled near midnight may fall in a different reporting day | Allow for boundary timing when the rate differs by a small margin. |
| Filter scope | Vortex IQ includes seller and stock-out cancellations; the portal may separate guest-initiated ones | Match the cancellation reasons included before comparing percentages. |
Known limitations / merchant FAQs
Q: How often does this card update? It refreshes on the standard data refresh over a trailing 30-day window with a prior-period comparison, so new cancellations move the rate within a refresh cycle. Q: Why does the Target Plus Partners number differ from this card? The portal scorecard may use a fixed review window and may separate cancellation reasons differently. Align the window and the included cancellation types to reconcile. Q: How does this relate to the sibling metrics? Cancellation rate sits alongsideon-time-dispatch-rate-partner-sla as a fulfilment-health pair, and its most common cause shows up in active-target-plus-listings-for-oos-skus-on-bc.
Q: Can I change the alert threshold?
The default alerts above 2%. If your category runs a different normal baseline, adjust the threshold in the Sensitivity tab to fit your operation.