TikTok Shop
Profit Leak Audit
Demo Brand — Women's Footwear
60-day review
£7.6k refunded. The opportunity is concentrated, not random.
The sample shop generated £82,760 in realised GMV across 1,860 delivered orders. Refund value totalled £7,612, equal to 9.2% of GMV. Our illustrative analysis estimates £3,800 is associated with causes that appear controllable or partially controllable.
Three SKUs drive the majority of priority leakage. The biggest causes are sizing / fit, product expectation mismatch and damaged packaging. Seller-fault refunds and aftersales handling are the two strongest shop-health opportunities.
41.8% of refund value is linked to sizing / fit. Average aftersales handling is 31 hours.
Where the refund value is coming from.
The audit looks for concentration: products and causes creating disproportionate commercial damage.
The three highest-priority SKUs account for £5,704 of refund value — roughly three quarters of all refunds in the sample.
Three products deserve attention first.
| Product | GMV | Refund £ | Rate | Main cause | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riviera Tall Boot | £27,715 | £2,940 | 10.6% | Sizing / fit | HIGH |
| Nova Block Heel | £14,892 | £1,485 | 10.0% | Packaging damage | HIGH |
| Luna Trainer | £12,997 | £1,280 | 9.8% | Expectation mismatch | HIGH |
| Mila Sandal | £11,862 | £875 | 7.4% | Sizing / fit | MEDIUM |
| Aria Flat | £9,417 | £810 | 8.6% | Change of mind | LOW |
The first three products have clear, actionable operational hypotheses. The lower-priority change-of-mind returns should not be treated as fully preventable.
Separate controllable issues from normal customer behaviour.
| Root cause | Cases | Refund £ | Share | Illustrative opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sizing / fit | 59 | £3,179 | 41.8% | £1,749 |
| Expectation mismatch | 31 | £1,316 | 17.3% | £987 |
| Packaging / logistics | 21 | £948 | 12.5% | £663 |
| Quality / manufacturing | 8 | £360 | 4.7% | £198 |
| Wrong item / picking | 1 | £28 | 0.4% | £25 |
| Customer change of mind | 43 | £1,782 | 23.4% | £178 |
Stonevale does not describe the full £7,612 as recoverable. The £3,800 figure is an assumption-based opportunity estimate, clearly separated from observed refund value.
Two operational metrics stand out.
These benchmarks are fictional placeholders to demonstrate the format. A real audit uses the seller's live Seller Centre benchmarks.
| Metric | Current | Benchmark | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negative Review Rate | 11.3% | 6.0% | Watch |
| Seller Fault Return & Refund Rate | 3.3% | 2.5% | TOP OPPORTUNITY |
| Seller Fault Cancellation Rate | 1.0% | 1.2% | Healthy |
| On-Time Delivery Rate | 96.0% | 95.0% | Healthy |
| IM Dissatisfaction Rate | 7.2% | 9.0% | Healthy |
| After-Sales Handling Time | 31 hrs | 24 hrs | TOP OPPORTUNITY |
The five actions we would tackle first.
Clarify Riviera Tall Boot fit
Add calf / fit measurements, model sizing references and a prominent runs-small note.
Confidence High
Effort Low
Strengthen Nova Heel packaging
Review packing, reinforce protection and add dispatch QC.
Confidence High
Effort Medium
Reset Luna Trainer expectations
Update imagery, material / colour description and LIVE expectation-setting.
Confidence Medium
Effort Low
Reduce aftersales handling time
Create a daily queue routine, ownership and simple decision rules.
Confidence High
Effort Low
Weekly shop-health review
Review refunds by SKU, SPS opportunities, customer signals and fulfilment exceptions.
Confidence High
Effort Low
Turn the findings into a short implementation sprint.
- Update Boot sizing content
- Audit Heel packaging
- Set baseline metrics
- Implement packaging QC
- Update Trainer listing
- Start daily aftersales routine
- Monitor SKU signals
- Refine response rules
- Escalate supplier actions
- Compare refund indicators
- Review shop health
- Set next priorities
BTA-01 and TRC-03 refund rates, seller-fault refund value, aftersales hours, negative-review signals and the seller's live shop-health metrics.
Methodology: the observed figures come from fictional 60-day sample data. Addressable opportunity is illustrative, based on assumed controllability, and is not a guaranteed saving.
Stonevale Commerce is an independent consultancy and is not affiliated with or endorsed by TikTok.