Shopify Product Returns Template

The Product Returns template creates a Shopify Products worksheet that compares ordered quantities with refunded quantities. It helps merchants find products with high refund activity while keeping the underlying product records available for spreadsheet analysis.

Fields and analytics included

The worksheet contains:

• Product Title
• Gross Quantity Ordered
• Returned Quantity
• Return Rate

The three analytics columns initially cover all time.

Create the Product Returns spreadsheet

1. Install Mixtable Analytics Spreadsheet
2. Click Create Spreadsheet
3. Search for or select Product Returns
4. Create the spreadsheet

How the template measures product returns

The template uses Shopify refund activity:

• Gross Quantity Ordered measures the quantity originally ordered
• Returned Quantity uses the Refunded Quantity analytics metric
• Return Rate uses the percentage of orders refunded metric

The user-facing template labels use return wording, but this report is based on refunds. It does not measure Shopify return requests, return reasons, open returns, or the time required to close a return.

That distinction matters because a refund and a merchandise return are not always the same event. A merchant can issue a refund without receiving an item, and a return request can remain open before a refund is completed.

Find products worth investigating

Sort Return Rate from highest to lowest, then consider both the rate and the underlying volume. A product with one refunded order can have a high rate but little business impact, while a bestselling product with a lower rate can create more total refunded units.

Add context such as:

• Net Sales and Gross Sales
• Total Refund Amount Excluding Tax
• Orders Count
• Product vendor, type, category, tags, or status
• Variant-level information for products with several options

Use a consistent fixed date range when comparing products launched at different times.

Use return-request analytics for operational returns

For Shopify return-management analysis, create a report with return metrics such as Return Request Count, Return Quantity, Return Reason Count, Open Return Count, and Average Hours To Close A Return. Those metrics analyze Shopify return requests instead of refund activity.

See Shopify Return Request Analytics for the operational workflow, filters, and important differences between returns and refunds.