Amazon Returns Performance Dashboard launches next month

In what Amazon say is their continued efforts to improve your seller-fulfilled returns experience, they have announced the launch of an Amazon Returns Performance dashboard is coming on the 21st of October.

The Amazon Returns Performance dashboard is designed to help you monitor your returns performance and proactively address return-related issues. What it’ll also do is spell out very clearly whether you are meeting Amazon’s customer service expectations or if you are falling short in any area related to returns. The new dashboard will focus on three key returns performance metrics:

• Return requests approved in less than 24 hours
• Total declined return requests
• Return-related buyer contact rate

Each performance metric will contain details for the following areas:

• Current metric performance
• Target metric threshold
• Definition of the metric
• Explanation of metric calculation
• Explanation of importance of metric
• Policy information

Triaging issues with the Amazon Returns Performance Dashboard

The Amazon Returns Performance dashboard is also launching with the Returns Analysis page, a tool to help you identify and take action on any product listings that experience return issues.

This page will help you identify the top return issue for each of your product listings and this is a feature that we think will be really useful. We hate solutions which simply point out that we’re failing to meet expectations – by revealing top return issues you’ll be able to triage products and decide if your product information is lacking vital details, if the product fails to perform as expected, or if you’re simply promising more than the item can deliver. Once you know what’s wrong you know if a simple edit of the description will fix unduly high returns or if more drastic action is needed like dumping that product line and replacing it with something less troublesome.

For ease of access, you will also be able to access a pop-up window within the Manage Returns page to view a summary of your returns performance metrics.

Look out for the new features next month and let us know in comments below if this is a useful feature for improving your performance or if you simply view it as just another stick for Amazon to beat you up with.