Ecommerce return rate: how to calculate and reduce it
Your return rate is items returned divided by items sold in the same period. With no official UK average, track your own rate and cut the returns you control.
Tools our VAs use for this
Your ecommerce return rate is the number of items returned in a period divided by the number of items sold in the same period, multiplied by 100. There is no official UK average to compare it with: the published averages are US studies, so treat them as context, not targets. The useful benchmark is your own rate, tracked monthly by product, category and reason. If you want someone to log your return reasons and keep that data clean every day, our service for the ecommerce return rate side of returns covers it alongside order processing.
On this page
What the ecommerce return rate is and how to calculate it
The ecommerce return rate is the percentage of items sold that come back, calculated as items returned in a period divided by items sold in that period, times 100.
The formula
Return rate (%) = items returned in the period ÷ items sold in the period × 100
Count items, not orders, if customers often return part of an order. Count orders if you mostly sell one item per order. Pick one method and keep it, so the trend means something. Stores short on time can get outsourced e-commerce support for the tracking.
A worked example
The numbers below are an example, invented to show the method.
| Example month | Example figure |
|---|---|
| Items sold | 1,200 |
| Items returned | 150 |
| Return rate | 150 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = 12.5% |
Choosing the period
Returns arrive after the sale. An item sold on the last day of the month may come back next month. Two ways to deal with it:
- Simple rate: returns received this month against items sold this month. Easy, and fine for a steady store.
- Matched rate: returns linked to the month the item was sold, calculated once the return window for that month has closed. More accurate when sales swing between months.
Return rate by value
You can also calculate it by money: refunded value divided by sales value. Track both. A low item rate with a high value rate means your expensive products are the ones coming back.
Return rate calculator
Enter your own returns and sales for one period to see your ecommerce return rate.
Items that came back in the period.
Items sold in the same period.
Count returns and sales for the same period.
Return rate for the month
Enter items returned and items sold above
Return rate (%) = items returned in the period ÷ items sold in the period × 100
items returned ÷ items sold × 100
More items came back than were sold in this period. That can happen with a simple rate, when returns from an earlier period arrive; a matched rate links each return to the month the item was sold.
There is no official UK average to compare it with. The useful benchmark is your own rate, tracked monthly by product, category and reason.
Count items, not orders, if customers often return part of an order. Count orders if you mostly sell one item per order. Pick one method and keep it, so the trend means something.
Average return rates and their limits
No official UK figure
We looked for an official UK ecommerce return rate and did not find one. The ONS retail industry pages publish retail sales figures, not return rates. Any "UK average" you see quoted online comes from a third-party study, and you should check who ran it, what it measured and when.
US studies
A widely cited figure comes from the United States. It describes the US market, not the UK.
- US data: the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns reported in December 2024 that US retailers estimated 16.9% of their 2024 annual sales would be returned, across all retail, not only online.
That figure covers all US retail, not only online, which shows why a single "average" is a poor target for your store. Category, price point, return policy and customer base all move the rate.
Named retailers' rates
People often search for a named retailer's return rate, ASOS for example. We did not find an official return-rate figure published by ASOS, so we do not quote one. Press estimates exist, but without a published source they are not a benchmark.
How to benchmark your own return rate
Benchmark your own return rate against your own data: set a baseline, split it by category, product and size, add reason codes and compare like with like. Build it in four steps.
- Set a baseline. Calculate your rate for each of the last six or twelve months with one method.
- Split it. Calculate the rate by category, by product and, for clothing and footwear, by size.
- Add reasons. Use a short fixed list of reason codes on every return: wrong size, not as described, faulty, arrived damaged, changed mind, other.
- Compare like with like. Compare this month with the same month last year, and each product with its own category.
Category differences
Categories behave differently: products sold by size or fit carry a risk that consumables do not. We have not found a verified UK category table, so build your own: your rate by category, month by month, is the comparison you can act on.
Seasonality
Return rates rise after peak sales periods, when gift buying, sale purchases and bracketing combine. Compare each month with the same month in the previous year, not with the month before, or your January will always look like a crisis. For planning around peaks and growth, see how to scale an ecommerce business in the UK.
Example benchmark sheet
The figures are an example, invented to show the layout.
| Example category | Items sold | Items returned | Return rate | Top reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dresses | 400 | 80 | 20% | Wrong size |
| Knitwear | 300 | 30 | 10% | Not as described |
| Accessories | 500 | 15 | 3% | Changed mind |
In this example, the fix is clear: the dress size guide first, the knitwear photos and descriptions second.
Why customers return online purchases
Customers return online purchases for four main reasons: fit and sizing, items not as described, faulty or damaged goods, and bracketing or a change of mind.
Fit and sizing
The item does not fit, or the size guide did not match the product. A controllable reason in any category sold by size.
Not as described
The colour, material, size or quality differs from the listing. This is a listing problem you can fix.
Faulty or damaged
The item arrived broken or developed a fault. Sometimes supplier quality, sometimes packing.
Bracketing and change of mind
The customer ordered several options and kept one, or simply changed their mind. Some of this is part of selling online, and UK law protects the customer's right to cancel most online orders.
The cost of high returns
A return costs you the refund, the postage if you pay it, the time to handle and inspect it, the packaging you replace and any markdown or write-off if it cannot be sold as new. We have not found a verified figure for the cost of one return, so calculate your own: one month's return costs divided by one month's returns. Your own time has a cost too, as the cost of not hiring an e-commerce VA explains.
There is a customer cost too. A slow or confusing return turns an unhappy customer into a lost one. A smooth return, even for an item that did not work out, can keep them buying.
How to reduce returns
Reduce returns by focusing on the controllable reasons: improve product information and sizing, pack and check orders carefully, fix supplier quality and track returns data by reason.
Separate controllable from uncontrollable returns
Wrong size, not as described, faulty and damaged in transit are largely in your control. Changed mind and bracketing are harder to move. Focus effort where the reason codes show controllable returns.
Improve product information and sizing
- Measurements for every size, in centimetres, and how the item fits
- Photos from several angles, in natural light, with scale
- Honest descriptions of colour, material and weight
- Answers to the questions customers ask before buying
- Reviews that mention fit and quality, visible on the product page
Our product listing and catalogue management page covers keeping listings accurate at scale, and our guide on how to write product descriptions covers the copy.
Pack and check orders carefully
Check each item against the order before sealing, and protect fragile items properly. Damage and wrong-item returns are among the cheapest to stop. Stock accuracy matters here too, as ecommerce inventory management methods explains.
Fix supplier quality
When one product or supplier keeps appearing under "faulty", raise it with the supplier, change the batch or stop selling it.
Avoid common mistakes that cause returns
- Size guides copied from the manufacturer and never checked
- Photos that flatter the colour
- Missing dimensions on furniture, homeware and accessories
- A returns policy that is hard to find, so customers return items they would have exchanged
- No reason code, so nobody knows what to fix
Track returns data and KPIs
Track, each month:
- Return rate, by item and by value
- Return rate by category, product and size
- Share of returns by reason code
- Controllable return share: returns with a reason you can fix
- Exchange share: returns that became exchanges, keeping the sale
Watch for return fraud
A small share of returns may be abuse: worn items returned as new, empty boxes, swapped items. We have not found a verified figure for how common it is. Record condition on arrival and watch for patterns by customer, and keep the policy simple for the honest majority.
Returns software and automation
A returns portal gives every return a reason code, so your data is complete without chasing. Portals can also offer an exchange before a refund, and some platforms show returns by product in their reports. The most useful automation is often the simplest: a required reason field on the returns form and a monthly report by product.
The returns process itself, from the request to the refund, and how to choose a returns provider, are in our guide to ecommerce returns management.
UK legal duties on returns
According to GOV.UK, online customers can cancel their order up to 14 days after delivery without giving a reason, then have another 14 days to return it, and you must refund within 14 days of getting it back. Cutting returns must never mean cutting your customers' legal rights. This is general information, not legal advice. In short:
14-day cancellation and refund
GOV.UK's guidance on online and distance selling for businesses says you must tell online customers they can cancel their order up to 14 days after it is delivered, without giving a reason. GOV.UK's page on accepting returns and giving refunds says the customer then has another 14 days to return the item, and you must refund within 14 days of receiving it back.
Faulty goods
The same GOV.UK page says you must offer a full refund if an item is faulty, not as described or does not do what it is supposed to. The Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 sets a short-term right to reject faulty goods that generally lasts 30 days from delivery (and installation, where your contract requires you to install them). The full detail, including repairs and replacements, is in our ecommerce returns management guide.
Tracking returns data with a virtual assistant
At Ant Assist, one dedicated VA, never shared, can work both ends of the problem during UK business hours, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, from 20 hours a week up to a full 40-hour VA. They log a reason code for every return from your helpdesk and returns form, build the monthly report by product, category and size, and review the listings behind your most-returned products: size guides, measurements, photos and descriptions. They also handle the returns themselves within your policy, as part of order processing and returns.
Every VA is recruited, managed and supervised in our own office in Cairo, working full time: not freelancers, not AI, and UK-managed. Access runs through password managers, with NDAs and data-processing agreements, and you can revoke it at any time. If the fit is wrong, we replace the VA without restart cost. Returns tracking is one part of wider online store support for sellers.
The introductory rate is £5 per hour for the first 6 months on the Entry tier (3 months on Mid, 1 month on Expert). After that, ecommerce Entry is £6.50 per hour full time (£1,040 a month for 160 hours) or £6.80 per hour part time (£544 a month for 80 hours). Use the calculator to compare that with the time returns take now. For customer emails about returns, see our ecommerce customer service outsourcing page.
Questions about return rates
Didn't find your answer? Browse more common questions in the Help Center.
Fewer returns, cleaner returns data.
One dedicated ecommerce VA, from £5 per hour. Book a call.