Taobao starts to correct "Refund Only"

Author | Liu Baodan

Editor | Huang Yu

Over half a year ago, e-commerce giants began to imitate Pinduoduo by introducing "refund only" policies. However, the drawbacks of "refund only" gradually emerged, and now Taobao is starting to correct it.

On July 26th, Taobao announced the optimization of the "refund only" policy. Based on the new version of the Experience Score (Store Experience Score), it will enhance the autonomy of merchants in after-sales service. The higher the experience score, the greater the discretion given to merchants. Stores with a score of 4.8 or above will have greater autonomy. The related policy will be officially implemented on August 9th.

It is clear that Taobao is attempting to strike a new balance between user experience and merchant rights.

In the past few years, the biggest change in the e-commerce industry has been the rise of Pinduoduo. Apart from low prices, "refund only" has also been a core factor in Pinduoduo's success. As a result, e-commerce platforms have shifted from questioning and trying to understand Pinduoduo to learning from Pinduoduo.

At the end of last year, in order to strengthen user rights, Taobao began to support buyers with refund only, and JD.com also revised its guidelines to include standards for user refund only. However, while "refund only" protects consumers, it can also be easily exploited by "scalpers," damaging the rights of merchants.

For example, during this year's 618 shopping festival, many clothing merchants reported return rates of up to 80% or even 90%. Because consumers can apply for refunds without returning the goods due to quality issues, many merchants suffered significant losses.

Insiders at Taobao told Wall Street News that by optimizing "refund only" based on the store experience score, Taobao is taking a beneficial step forward in exploring between users and merchants. "While ensuring consumer rights, it significantly improves the business environment and creates a more healthy e-commerce ecosystem."

This aligns with Taobao's current focus on adjusting the business environment. Recently, Taobao has initiated a round of modifications for merchants, such as clarifying that "experience score" is the core basis for traffic distribution. In addition, starting from September 1st, Tmall will cancel the annual software service fee for the platform.

However, Taobao has only loosened the restrictions on the "refund only" rights of merchants to a certain extent. For merchants to gain autonomy, they must continuously improve their service capabilities.

At the beginning of the year, Taobao announced an upgrade to the new comprehensive store experience rating standards. After the upgrade, the rating focuses more on indicators related to consumer assistance, such as "refund rejection rate" and "platform assistance rate." In addition, services that affect consumer shopping decisions, such as "return shipping insurance," will also be bonus points for merchants.

In other words, for merchants to obtain high scores, they must genuinely serve consumers well. Of course, Taobao also provides tangible rewards such as traffic for high-quality merchants, and this time it has even relinquished some after-sales rights.

According to Wall Street News, after the optimization of the "refund only" policy, for merchants with a comprehensive store experience score of ≥4.8, the platform will not actively intervene through Wangwang, nor support refunds after receiving the goods, but instead encourage merchants to negotiate with consumers first.

In short, Taobao will reduce or cancel after-sales interventions for high-quality stores; for other segmented merchants, the platform will provide different levels of autonomy based on experience scores and industry nature.

While giving merchants more autonomy, Taobao will also provide multiple after-sales service options for merchants to choose from, guiding merchants to continuously optimize after-sales services and reduce disputes and financial losses caused by "refund only." It is worth mentioning that Taobao has also optimized the "refund only" appeal process. After the merchant initiates an appeal, the platform will invite a third-party testing agency to sample the goods. If the test passes, the platform will compensate the merchant for the loss.

With Taobao adjusting the "refund only" policy, it is time for the industry to reflect on the vigorous learning from the Pinduoduo movement. In the increasingly intense e-commerce competition, true innovation and differentiation can bring greater competitiveness compared to replication and imitation