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On July 26, Taobao announced that it would optimize its “refund only” strategy, enhance merchants’ after-sales autonomy based on the new experience points, and reduce or eliminate after-sales intervention for high-quality stores.

It is reported that the relevant strategy will be officially implemented on August 9. On the same day, Tmall announced that it would completely cancel the annual fee for merchants starting from September 1.

At the beginning of this year, major e-commerce platforms launched the "refund only" service one after another. For a while, "refund only" seemed to become the standard for large online shopping platforms. However, while this risky service has brought benefits to many consumers, it has also caused many chaos. Service optimization is imminent.

Taobao optimizes "refund only" policy

It is reported that after the strategy is launched, for merchants with a comprehensive store experience score of 4.8 or above, the platform will not actively intervene through Wangwang and support refunds after receiving the goods, but will encourage merchants to negotiate with consumers first. As for merchants in other segments, the platform will grant different degrees of autonomy based on the experience score and industry nature. The higher the experience score, the greater the merchant's disposal rights.

While giving merchants more autonomy, Taobao will also provide multiple after-sales service plans for merchants to choose from, guiding them to continuously optimize after-sales services and reduce disputes and financial losses caused by "refund only". At the same time, Taobao has also optimized the refund only appeal process. After the merchant files an appeal, the platform will ask a third-party testing agency to conduct random inspections on the products. If the inspection passes, the platform will compensate the merchant for the loss.

It is reported that on June 27 this year, in the 2024 "618" consumer rights protection public opinion analysis released by the China Consumers Association, the China Consumers Association suggested that the platform continuously optimize the "seven-day no-reason return" and "refund only" rules, further clarify the scope of application of after-sales service, and make full use of artificial intelligence and other technical means to optimize the return and exchange identification process, increase human and material resources investment in relevant responsibility determination, and provide consumers with more convenient after-sales service.

Tmall will cancel annual fees

On the same day, Tmall also released the "Opinion Inquiry on the Canceling of Tmall Annual Fees". Starting from September 1, Tmall will cancel the platform's annual software service fees.

It is reported that merchants in different categories on Tmall previously had to pay an annual fee of 30,000 to 60,000 yuan. After the annual fee is completely cancelled, new merchants who enter Tmall after September 1 will no longer have to pay this fee. At the same time, Tmall will fully refund the annual fee for merchants whose operating turnover from January to August reaches the annual target.

“Refund only” becomes the standard for large online shopping platforms

Frequent "loophole-taking" behaviors

A shopping platform launched a "refund only" service in 2021. Within 15 days from the date of confirmation of receipt, if there is an after-sales problem with the order, consumers can apply for "refund only, no return". Subsequently, many shopping platforms followed suit, and Taobao also issued relevant rules on December 25, 2023, "For buyers who have successfully refused to sign, support refund processing terms, etc."

For a while, "refund only" seemed to become the standard for large online shopping platforms.

However, after the "refund only" service was launched,

In addition to winning cheers and applause from many consumers,

Some behaviors of "taking advantage of loopholes" and "fleecing"

But the platform merchants are complaining...

At the beginning of this year, an e-commerce merchant, Mr. Guan, posted a video and revealed that a female customer purchased four items worth 1,800 yuan and requested a full refund, but only returned one item and took away the other three express deliveries.

The merchant, Mr. Guan, said that the woman bought four products from his store through the Taobao platform, took a link and asked the merchant to send four express deliveries separately, and he did not think much about it at the time. However, after the express delivery, the woman refused to accept one of the products, took the other three, and successfully applied for a full "refund only", with a total amount of more than 1,800 yuan.

After Mr. Guan contacted the express delivery station, he learned that this person had delivered thousands of parcels in this way.

Mr. Guan then appealed to the platform, but was unsuccessful.

Guangzhou Daily once commented on the risks behind the "refund only" service. "Refund only, no return" is a good rule that benefits consumers and also forces businesses to operate with integrity and improve product quality. However, it was exploited by some people with ulterior motives, which also shows that there are certain loopholes behind the "refund only" rule.

At present, some platforms have unclear standards for "refund only", and it is common for the platforms to make misjudgments. Merchants have to spend energy to file complaints and defend their rights, and some can only admit that they are unlucky and suffer losses in silence, which affects their normal operations. In addition, the "refund only" service brings corresponding operational pressure to merchants, and some merchants will inevitably choose to reduce production costs or increase product prices, passing on the losses caused by "refund only" to consumers.

It is true that in order to compete for consumers, it is an inevitable trend for various platforms to introduce "refund only" services to enhance their competitiveness. However, if "no return, only refund" becomes a "borrowed flower to offer Buddha" to consumers by the platform, and the merchants bear unreasonable risks and losses, and even eventually pass the costs on to consumers, it is not difficult to say that the platform is absent from responsibility. In this regard, how to balance the rights and interests of consumers and merchants has put forward higher requirements for the platform's technical capabilities, review mechanisms, and rule improvements. In addition, while the "refund only" service spurs sellers, the platform may also try to constrain buyers, such as marking bad buyers and rejecting unreasonable demands. After all, a "consumer drama" needs to create a benign interaction between merchants and consumers, and "two-way rush" is the long-term plan for the healthy development of the platform.

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Source: Guangzhou Daily (Copyright belongs to the original author, if there is any infringement, please contact us to delete)