What an RTO costs
- The courier charge to ship it out.
- The courier charge to bring it back, which many couriers bill separately.
- Packing materials and handling.
- Stock tied up while the parcel is away, and possibly damaged on return.
- The sale you did not make.
Why COD raises it
With prepaid orders the customer has already paid and expects the parcel. With COD, nothing is committed until the door opens, so a change of mind costs the customer nothing.
Reasons for RTO
- The customer refused at the door.
- Nobody was available or the phone was unreachable.
- The address or pincode was wrong or incomplete.
- A fake or prank order.
What helps
Ask for a small advance, confirm the order, check address quality and pincodes, limit COD where delivery fails, and measure RTO by pincode and by product so you fix the biggest source first.
How Threshold does it. Threshold's dashboard counts refusals against COD orders, with and without an advance, and Pro breaks them down by pincode. Start with how to reduce refusals.
Questions
What does RTO stand for?
Return to origin.
Is RTO only a problem for cash on delivery?
No, but COD makes it more likely because the customer has paid nothing in advance.
Get paid before the door opens. Threshold is free on WordPress.org.
Get the free plugin