Let people keep the item and refund anyway: up to 2x repurchase
For low to moderate priced items, refunding without requiring the item back made customers up to twice as likely to buy again, lifted positive reviews 30%, and made the brand feel warmer. Frame it as convenience or an environmental saving, suggest donating, and do not demand proof.
Quick Summary
Across 9 experiments, refunding a customer while letting them keep the unwanted item made them like the brand more, buy again more, and leave better reviews. Returnless returns produced up to twice the repurchase likelihood, 30.1% more positive reviews than sending a replacement, 30% higher perceived value, and a brand that felt 16% warmer. Skipping the return ships as generosity, and generosity builds loyalty.
For low to moderate priced items, offer a full refund without requiring the product back. Frame it as a convenience or an environmental saving, suggest the customer donate the item, and do not ask for proof of the problem, which erodes the goodwill. Keep an anti-fraud check in place and reserve the tactic for items cheap enough that eating the cost pays off in loyalty.
Key Finding
2x
How much more likely customers were to buy again when refunded and told to keep a low-value item, versus a standard return.
Costello & Bechler, 2025
The reflex on a return request is to get the item back. For inexpensive products, the research says that reflex costs you loyalty. Refunding while letting the customer keep the item reads as warmth, and warmth is what turns a one-time buyer into a repeat one.
The gains were broad: +24.6% ratings when a wrong item was left with the customer, +30.1% positive reviews versus a replacement, +30% perceived value and +13% word of mouth for an unflattering sweater, and a brand judged 16% warmer than under a standard policy. We judge brands like people, and a brand that gives without demanding something back feels generous.
What to do on your Shopify store
- Set a keep-it threshold. Below a price point (say a low-value accessory), issue a full refund and tell the customer to keep or donate the item. Above it, use a normal return.
- Frame the why. "To save the emissions of shipping it back, please keep it" or "On us, as a thank you for your patience" both work. Convenience and environmental framings performed best.
- Suggest a donation rather than the bin, which strengthens the goodwill and softens the environmental downside.
- Do not demand proof. Asking customers to prove a fault cut positive word of mouth by around 20% and made the brand feel colder.
- Pair it with an instant refund and a relevant cross-sell at the refund moment to recover some revenue.
Where to be careful
The research covered low to medium priced goods, so keep expensive items on a standard return. Build in a simple anti-fraud check, since a widely known returnless policy can attract abuse. And it pays off most for repeat-purchase categories, where the loyalty compounds, rather than one-off big-ticket buys.
This completes a set of returns levers worth reading together: instant refunds, cross-selling at the refund step, and how free returns signal quality. To cut returns at the source, see our guide on reducing return rates through better product pages.
Research: Costello, J.P. & Bechler, C. (2025). Journal of Marketing Research. University of Notre Dame. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437251337723
Is this broken on your store?
Get a free UX review.
We review your store against 50+ conversion principles - including this one - and send you a detailed breakdown of what to fix and why.
Get a UX AuditFind your conversion leaks.
A focused expert review of your store with Figma redesigns and a Loom walkthrough. Pick one page or get the full picture.