Returns Margin Analyst
Finds the best seller that loses money after returns
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Returns cut your margin from 58% to 51.3%.
10 products, $415.9K revenue after refunds; 1,537 of 10,500 units came back (14.6%).
Margin before returns $294.3K; after returns $213.5K: $80.8K is lost to returns, $13.8K of it in handling.
1 product(s) lose money once returns are costed: Sandals.
Return reasons are not in the data; the cost per return and resale share are the figures you entered.
Margin after returns by product
- Sandals-0.4%
- Linen shirt38.3%
- Wireless earbuds44.8%
- Denim jacket43.8%
- Desk lamp62.5%
- Summer dress49.2%
- Running shoes43.4%
- Yoga mat66.7%
- Backpack61.7%
- Ceramic mug set65.6%
Return rate by product (%)
Margin after returns by product
| Product | Return rate | Margin before | Margin after | Lost to returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandals | 32% | 25.7% | -0.4% | $3,725 |
| Linen shirt | 28% | 53.3% | 38.3% | $3,410 |
| Wireless earbuds | 14% | 51% | 44.8% | $2,864 |
| Denim jacket | 26% | 53.5% | 43.8% | $4,631 |
| Desk lamp | 4% | 64.1% | 62.5% | $555 |
| Summer dress | 31% | 62.7% | 49.2% | $6,622 |
| Running shoes | 27% | 53.9% | 43.4% | $6,172 |
| Yoga mat | 5% | 69% | 66.7% | $945 |
| Backpack | 7% | 63.8% | 61.7% | $1,064 |
| Ceramic mug set | 2% | 66.7% | 65.6% | $512 |
What to do this week
- Review Sandals: they lose money after returns, so more sales make it worse.
- Start with Summer dress: 31% of units come back and $6,622 is lost to returns.
- Each 1-point cut in the return rate is worth about $5,517 at current volume.
Do
- Fix the cause for the highest return rates first: size guidance, photos, or the description.
Don't
- Don't judge a product on margin before returns: the highest-return lines look best there.
How to improve
- Add return reasons so the next report can separate fit and quality from changes of mind.
- Add shipping cost per order so the next report can include outbound freight.
Demo
Overview
Online retail reports revenue and margin per product, both computed before returns. Returns then arrive as a single line in the accounts, at company level, so the cost never attaches to the product that caused it. A category returning at 8% and one at 45% look identical in a margin report.
The cost of a return is also badly understood. It is not the refund. It is outbound shipping already spent, return shipping, handling and inspection, repackaging, the markdown when an item cannot go back at full price, and the capital tied up while it travels. Most retailers count the refund and stop.
The finding that changes decisions is margin per product after all of it, because the ranking it produces is often the reverse of the revenue ranking. The product marketing pushes hardest is sometimes the one quietly consuming what the rest of the catalogue earns.
And return reasons are the cheapest product research available. "Too small" concentrated on one item is a sizing chart problem with a fixed cost to fix. "Not as described" is a photography and copy problem. Both are recorded and neither is read.
This agent reports true margin, the reasons behind it, and what each fix is worth. It changes no price, delists nothing, and never profiles a customer.
Benefits
You stop scaling a loss
Which is what pushing a high-return product does.
Fixes with a number attached
A sizing chart correction, costed against what it recovers.
A true margin ranking
The one that should drive buying and marketing decisions.
What it does
Margin after the full cost of a return
Not the refund. Outbound shipping already spent, return freight, handling, markdown and tied capital.
Reverses the revenue ranking
Frequently the top seller sits near the bottom once returns are attached to it.
Reads return reasons as product research
"Too small" on one item is a sizing chart. "Not as described" is photography. Both are already recorded.
Prices each fix
What correcting one sizing chart is worth per month at current volume.
Separates resaleable from written off
An item that comes back at full price is a different cost from one that cannot be resold at all.
Profiles no customer
It reports products and reasons, never individuals. Return-behaviour scoring of shoppers is a different and far more dangerous product.
What this changes
What this changes about your week
- It takes over
- Computing product margin after the real cost of returns.
- Done today by
- Nobody. Returns land as one company-level line in the accounts.
- How often
- Never per product, which is the only level that matters.
- Typical manual effort
- Shipping both ways, handling, markdown and tied capital all have to be attached to the SKU that caused them.
Why E-commerce in particular. Margin reports are computed before returns, so a category returning at 8% and one at 45% look identical — and the top seller is sometimes the one consuming what the rest of the catalogue earns.
Runs unattended
Started by you or by an event, and it finishes on its own. Nothing waits for someone to be at a desk.
The same standard every time
The two-hundredth item is held to the bar the first one was. Consistency is the part people cannot sustain.
It cannot act on its own
Returns Margin Analyst has no path to sending, spending or committing. That limit is why its output is safe to act on.
How it runs
This agent runs server-side through the PROMIVO runtime. Each run is logged step by step and every tool call is permission-checked before it executes.
- 1InputValidated against the agent input schema
- 2Modelclaude-sonnet-5 with automatic fallback
- 3Toolsextract_structured_data
- 4PermissionsRuns READ actions automatically; anything higher waits for approval
- 5OutputStructured result matching the output schema
- 6LoggingTokens, duration and every step recorded
Requirements
Integrations
No integrations required.
Before you start
- Orders and returns by product
- Cost of goods, outbound and return shipping
- Handling cost per return, and resale outcome
- Return reasons as captured
- Requires the All-Access plan or higher
Use cases
Monthly margin review
True margin per product, after returns.
Before scaling ad spend
Whether the product being scaled actually earns.
Range planning
Which lines to repeat, on margin rather than on revenue.
After a returns spike
Which products and which reasons.
Pricing
All-Access
Billed monthly through your PROMIVO subscription. Cancel at any time.
Runs consume your plan allowance for agent executions and tokens. See plan limits
FAQ
Does it score or block customers who return a lot?
No, and it will not. Return-behaviour scoring of individuals is a different product with real fairness problems. This reports on products and reasons.
What if we do not track the cost of handling a return?
It uses the cost inputs you supply and states which components were missing, so the margin is understated in a stated way rather than estimated with an invented number.
Does it change prices or delist products?
No. Both are commercial decisions about range and positioning. It gives you the margin and the reasons.
Reviews
Reviews open once customers have run this agent.
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