Taobao’s new “refund only” policy has been online for a week. What is the effect?
2024-08-17
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Zhu Yao, reporter of Chao News Client
As competition in the e-commerce field intensifies, the "refund only" after-sales service method to attract customers has triggered fierce competition between buyers and sellers. In previous media reports, the unreasonable "refund only" policy has intensified the conflict between consumers and merchants to a certain extent.
On August 9, Taobao launched a series of adjustments to the refund-only policy. According to the new rules, high-quality merchants will not be asked to "refund only" by the platform. After adjusting the "refund only" rule, what changes have occurred in the balance of this strategy? What is the effect?
According to media reports, several merchants participating in the internal test have reported that more refunds can be handled through independent negotiation, and that unreasonable "refunds only" have decreased significantly; on the other hand, for higher-value orders that merchants are more concerned about, the number of cases where the platform intervenes and the system automatically handles refunds only has also decreased significantly.
In addition, some merchants said that Taobao has begun testing to no longer open the evaluation entrance for some "refund only" and return and refund orders to avoid being exploited by some "freeloaders".
Taobao said that data showed that in the first week after the strategy was launched, thanks to the increased after-sales autonomy of merchants and the upgrade of the "refund only" abnormal behavior recognition model, the intervention of Taobao and Tmall platforms in the "goods received, only refund" scenario has been reduced by 20%, and the number of unreasonable "refunds only" has dropped sharply.
Chao News reporter learned that exploring the balance between user experience and merchant rights has become an important theme of Taobao's recent development. In particular, for merchant after-sales scenarios such as "refund only", Taobao has launched a series of measures to fully protect merchant rights without affecting consumer experience.
On July 26, Taobao took the lead in the e-commerce industry to announce the "relaxation" of the refund-only policy and optimized the "refund-only" policy for all merchants. It is reported that Taobao will enhance the after-sales autonomy of merchants based on the new experience score, reduce or cancel after-sales intervention for high-quality stores, and for merchants with a comprehensive experience score of ≥4.8 points, the platform will not actively intervene through Wangwang and support refund-only after receipt, and encourage merchants to negotiate with consumers first.
It is worth mentioning that the adjustment of the refund policy is not limited to merchants with a score of 4.8 or above. It is understood that Taobao will give merchants in other segments different autonomy based on the experience score. The higher the experience score, the greater the autonomy.
At the same time, Taobao has also upgraded its abnormal behavior recognition model for refunding only after receiving the goods, and does not support abnormal refund only claims. The upgraded refund only recognition model enhances the recognition of abnormal behaviors such as abnormal high-frequency refund only, returning empty packages with fewer items, and high-frequency refunds for counterfeit goods. At the same time, it pays close attention to unreasonable refund behaviors, which can effectively identify and crack down on wool parties and scalpers, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Taobao merchants.
Taobao has also optimized the refund appeal process. Under the new strategy, after a 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.
In addition, in order to help merchants strengthen their ability to negotiate with consumers after sales, Taobao also plans to launch an after-sales negotiation tool for all Taobao Tmall merchants. After consumers initiate a refund order or contact customer service due to after-sales issues, the tool will automatically send soothing words and multiple negotiation plans in Wangwang chat. If the consumer is satisfied with the negotiation plan and chooses the corresponding plan, the system will automatically execute the merchant's preset cash compensation, coupon compensation, refund agreement and other plans.
Currently, the tool has started gray testing and will gradually be open to all merchants, which can effectively help merchants strengthen their proactive after-sales service capabilities and reduce refund rates. This year, Taobao has continuously explored and balanced the balance between consumers and merchants, while ensuring the rights and interests of consumers, significantly optimizing the business environment and forming a more benign and healthy e-commerce ecosystem.
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