Best questions for ecommerce shopper survey about returns process

Here are some of the best questions for an ecommerce shopper survey about the returns process, plus tips on how to craft them. If you want to build this kind of survey fast, you can use Specific to generate your own in seconds.

Best open-ended questions for an ecommerce shopper survey about returns process

If you want honest, detailed feedback from shoppers, open-ended questions are the way to go. They help uncover context, experiences, and frustrations that structured questions might miss—especially around the returns process, where stories and “whys” matter.

For ecommerce, open-ended questions are especially revealing. With online return rates surging to 24.5% (vs. 8.71% in stores) and categories like apparel reaching as high as 40% returns, it's clear shoppers have a lot to say about what’s working—and what’s broken. [1] Here are the best open-ended questions I’d ask ecomm shoppers:

1. What was your primary reason for returning your most recent purchase?

2. Can you describe how easy or difficult it was to complete the return process?

3. What, if anything, surprised you during the return process?

4. Was there any part of the return process that felt frustrating or confusing?

5. How did the return policy impact your decision to shop with us?

6. How do you prefer to receive refunds for returned items?

7. Tell us about any support or help you needed during your return.

8. Is there anything you would change to make returns easier for you?

9. Have you ever decided not to return an item? What made you decide that?

10. How would you compare our returns process to others you’ve experienced?

Use questions like these to surface both the small pain points and the deep reasons behind returns—valuable for improving satisfaction when 66% of retailers now charge for returns. [2]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for ecommerce shopper survey about returns process

Sometimes, you need structured feedback to spot trends, measure impact, or kick off a deeper conversation. That’s what single-select multiple-choice questions do best—great for quantifying key data, establishing baselines, or making it easy for busy shoppers to answer quickly. They’re also helpful for getting those less talkative customers to start sharing, letting you follow up with more probing questions.

Question: What was the main reason for your most recent return?

• Wrong size or fit

• Product was damaged

• Changed my mind

• Received the wrong item

• Other

Question: How easy was the returns process overall?

• Very easy

• Somewhat easy

• Somewhat difficult

• Very difficult

Question: Did you have to pay for your return shipping?

• Yes, fully

• Yes, partially

• No, it was free

When to followup with "why?" A multiple-choice answer can signal a trend, but you want to dig into the motivation. If someone picks “Product was damaged,” follow up with “Can you describe the type of damage, and how it was discovered?” These smart follow-ups change a simple data point into an actionable insight.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always add “Other” if your list might miss an uncommon reason—or whenever you want to discover unexpected pain points. Following up on “Other” often yields unique insights that drive innovation in your returns process.

NPS question for ecommerce shopper survey about returns process

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a trusted, battle-tested way to gauge shopper loyalty—and it works with returns, too. NPS asks: “How likely are you to recommend our returns process to a friend or colleague?” Since returns can be a make-or-break experience, a high (or low) NPS for your returns process tells you a ton. Passives and detractors are goldmines for qualitative follow-ups, while promoters reveal what’s actually working. If you want to create an NPS survey aimed specifically at ecommerce returns, you can auto-generate one here.

The power of follow-up questions

If you’ve ever read through survey results and thought, “Huh? What did they mean by that?”, you know the pain of missing follow-up questions. It’s the depth you get from real conversation that unlocks actionable insight—especially in ecommerce, where the root cause of a return could be sizing, unclear images, or even something as random as package mishandling in transit.

Specific’s AI-powered follow-up questions are a game changer here. Instead of basic static questions, our system asks smart, on-the-fly clarifications in real time—just like a seasoned researcher would. This feels natural to shoppers, saves time for you, and ensures you gather the full story. If you’ve tried emailing back and forth to clarify survey responses, you know just how much time this approach saves.

• Shopper: "It was annoying."

• AI follow-up: "Can you tell me more about what part of the process felt annoying to you?"

• Shopper: "I couldn’t return my package easily."

• AI follow-up: "Was it an issue with the instructions, the carrier, or something else?"

How many followups to ask? Two or three targeted follow-ups are about right for most situations—enough to clarify without overwhelming or fatiguing the shopper. Specific lets you set this up, and even define conditions for skipping to the next question once you’ve gathered what you need.

This makes it a conversational survey. Rather than just collecting static answers, you get a real dialogue—yielding feedback that’s richer and more reliable.

Survey response analysis with AI: Even though follow-ups give you loads of unstructured text, it’s easy to analyze everything using Specific’s AI survey response analysis. You can do this in real time, sorting themes, surfacing pain points, and summarizing insights across all respondents.

Automated follow-ups are a new way to get unstuck—definitely try generating a survey with conversational follow-ups to see the experience.

How to compose prompts for ChatGPT or GPTs to write survey questions about returns process

Getting great survey questions from AI (like ChatGPT) is all about good prompting. Here’s how I’d do it for ecommerce returns:

Start simple—for a quick list of questions:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Ecommerce Shopper survey about Returns Process.

But, the more context you provide, the better the AI’s output will be! Expand your prompt with details about your store, audience, and goals. For example:

We are a mid-size online apparel retailer looking to improve our returns process. Our goal is to learn why shoppers return items and how the experience impacts loyalty. Suggest 10 open-ended questions and a few single-select questions for our Ecommerce Shopper survey about returns.

To organize and refine your questions:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then drill deeper into categories that matter most:

Generate 10 questions for categories “return policy clarity” and “shipping experience”.

This stepwise prompting really leverages AI’s creativity and context-awareness—producing survey questions that are tuned to your unique ecommerce situation.

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey transforms feedback into a real, dynamic interaction—think chat messages, not endless forms. Instead of firing off a barrage of fixed questions, you actually have a conversation with your shopper. AI-powered survey platforms (like Specific) adapt each question and ask smart follow-ups in real time, just like a live interviewer.

With a platform like Specific, creating and analyzing a conversational survey is as easy as chatting with the AI. For a step-by-step guide to conversational surveys, check out this how-to article for ecommerce returns surveys.

Why use AI for ecommerce shopper surveys? Because ecommerce returns are loaded with nuance, detail, and emotion, you need more than checkboxes. AI survey generators dig into each unique story and surface insights you can act on. Want an AI survey example for your returns process? Or ideas for using a conversational survey builder that delivers richer data than a static form? This approach consistently uncovers friction points, new trends (like returnless refunds [5]), and helps you tune return policies faster, even as return rates hit $362B in online returns annually. [1]

Specific stands out here with its smooth conversational experience—making the feedback process easy, engaging, and actionable for both shoppers and survey creators.

See this returns process survey example now

Ready to upgrade how you measure and improve ecommerce returns? See this survey example, get conversational insights instantly, and experience how AI-powered questions drive actionable feedback you can use right away. Create your own now and turn customer stories into business wins.