Note: This report is particularly valuable for ExpertVoice Program Managers overseeing Hosted Store order processing.
The Cancellations and Returns report in Analytics gives brands with a Hosted Store on ExpertVoice a high-level overview of the total number of products in a canceled or returned status over time.
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The horizontal axis represents the date range.
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The vertical axis displays the quantity of line items based on selected filters.
An expert’s order may include multiple products. Each product appears as a separate line item on the billing invoice. Order processing is the workflow between order placement and delivery, and it may include statuses such as processed, shipped, returned, or canceled.
💡 Tip: Experts can track each order's status in their Order History, with notes and timestamps offering updates at each fulfillment stage.
Cancellations
Experts cannot cancel orders themselves on the platform, but they can initiate cancellation requests with the ExpertVoice Support Team. A brand’s Order Fulfillment Manager can see these cancellation requests in the ExpertVoice Admin and mark an order as canceled due to an unforeseen reason, such as a payment or inventory-related issue. Orders can only be canceled before being marked as Shipped, either in whole or partially.
Returns
If a brand allows returns on ExpertVoice, experts can initiate returns for some or all of their orders. Each brand's order guidelines can be found on the Product Detail Page (PDP), which is also available in the member’s shopping cart and order history.
How to access the report
- Visit Analytics in the Advocacy Platform
- Click Add Reports to Dashboard
- Click Cancellations and Returns and then drag and drop it to your preferred analytics dashboard
- Insert a name for your new report
- 255 characters maximum
- Default text: Cancellations and Returns
Click the report title or the three dots on the report's right side to expand the options drop-down menu. You can explore the report, rename it, duplicate it, remove it from your dashboard, or view the report description here.
How to visualize and examine the data
Use the following tips to analyze the report in greater detail and visualize the data in ways that best meet your needs.
Over time display (bar chart)
The default view shows monthly data and counts of canceled and returned line items over time. It is a colorful and visual distribution of order data over time in a bar chart. Red represents canceled line items, and yellow represents returns.
Hover your cursor over a color on a bar and click it to view how many line items were in a specific status during this time (see example above). For the timeframe selected, it will show the following totals in a pop-out menu:
- Month of Relative Date (MM-YYYY)
- Cancelled Line Items (#)
- Dollars Cancelled ($)
- Total % Cancelled (total canceled line items / total ordered line items)
- Total Returned Line Items (#)
- Total Dollars Returned ($)
- Total % Returned (total returned line items / total ordered line items)
- Total % Shipped (total shipped line items / [total ordered line items - total canceled line items])
- Shipped Line Items (#)
- Processed Line Items (#)
- Ordered Line Items (#)
To return to the default view, click anywhere in the surrounding white space on the chart.
To view weekly or daily data, click the + sign at the bottom left-hand corner of the chart. To view quarterly or yearly data, click the – sign. To see data from a specific date range, use the Relative or Custom Date filter at the bottom right-hand corner of the menu.
By SKU Display (table)
Using the Switch Display filter, select By SKU to view the information in a list. The table display is beneficial for exporting the data as a CSV file. It will help you see a high-level overview of the total number of SKUs that meet a certain order status (e.g., canceled, returned) during the selected time range. The bars on the table are purple in color.
Under Switch by SKU Display, select a filter to view the data for cancellations or returns.
Click the top row header to sort the following columns:
- Product Description and SKU columns from A to Z or Z to A
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Cancelled Line Item column from high to low or low to high
- Note: The column name will change based on the Switch by SKU Display filter selected
The filters
Use the filters at the right of the report to focus on specific status characteristics or narrow your view. You can select one or more filters to customize your report. Click Save Report to save your filters.
- SKU: Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is a unique identifier assigned to each distinct product or item for inventory management and tracking purposes.
- Product Code: A specific alphanumeric or numeric code assigned to a product to identify it within a brand’s inventory or catalog system.
- Product Name: A summary of a product's features or characteristics provided by the brand to ExpertVoice.
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Shipping Country
- (All): All of the country names listed below
- A specific country name: Canada, United States
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Shipping State
- (All): All of the state or province names listed below
- A specific state or province name
- Relative Date: View the data by years, quarters, months, weeks, or days
- Custom Date: Select the date range you want to view the data for
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Switch Display:
- Over Time: This is a bar graph view of your company’s line item cancellation and/or return data over a specific time.
- By SKU: A table view or list of your company’s individual Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), often used in inventory management and sales analysis.
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Switch by SKU Display: Select a filter to view the following information in the table.
- Canceled Line Items: Products or items within an order that have been removed or voided before fulfillment or shipment.
- Canceled Dollars: The monetary value ($ USD) associated with line items or orders canceled before completion.
- Returned Line Items: Products or items that customers have sent back to the seller for a refund or exchange.
- Returned Dollars: The monetary value ($ USD) associated with products or items returned by customers.
- Shipped Line Items: Products or line items within an order that have been packaged and dispatched for delivery to the customer.
- Processed Line Items: After an expert orders one or more products from a brand on ExpertVoice, the brand must review and process it. The “processed” status includes all orders that were either fully processed, partially processed, canceled, partially canceled, approval denied, or partially returned to the expert.
- Ordered Line Items: Experts successfully purchased products from a brand on ExpertVoice. These are line items on the brand’s invoice.
- Returned Line Items: Products previously purchased by experts on ExpertVoice but sent back to the brand for refund, exchange, or repair.
The report summary
Below the chart, a high-level snapshot of the data represented in the report will populate during the selected time range. Please note that the report summary numbers may change if you change one or more report filters or the data refreshes.
Brands can use this information to pinpoint trends and understand why particular products experience higher rates of cancellation or return than others.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- How frequently does the report update? The report is currently updated twice a day.
- What Analytics dashboard will this populate in? You have to add it to a dashboard; it’s not automatically populated within a dashboard.
- What should I do if any metric appears to need correction? Please contact your Customer Success partner to have your report audited.
- Where can I see why certain line items were returned or canceled? The Order Fulfillment Manager at your brand can log into the ExpertVoice Admin and view this information under "Transaction History" on the Order Summary Page.
- What are the best practices for monitoring this report? Learn more here.