Global Store Returned Orders Analysis

Goals:

The primary goal of this project was to analyze and understand the patterns and trends in returned orders for a global store. By examining various metrics and visualizations, we aimed to identify key factors contributing to returns and refunds, and to provide actionable insights to improve business operations and customer satisfaction.

Business Needs:

1. Reduce Return Rates: Identify categories and regions with high return rates to implement targeted strategies for reducing returns.
2. Optimize Shipping Costs: Analyze the relationship between shipping costs and returned orders to find cost-effective shipping solutions.
3. Enhance Customer Experience: Understand customer demographics and behaviors to tailor services and products that meet their needs and reduce dissatisfaction.
4. Improve Inventory Management: Use insights from returned items to better manage inventory and reduce waste.

Discovering and Presenting Meaningful Insights:

1. Data Collection: Gathered data on orders, returns, customer demographics, shipping costs, and product categories from the store’s database.
2. Data Visualization: Created various visualizations including bar graphs, pie charts, and maps to represent the data clearly and effectively.
   • Returned Items vs. Category: Highlighted which product categories had the highest return rates.
   • Refunded Orders vs. Ship Cost: Showed the correlation between shipping costs and refunded orders.
   • Refunded Orders vs. Discount %: Analyzed how different discount levels impacted the number of refunded orders.
   • Regional Analysis: Used maps to visualize return rates across different regions.
3. Insight Extraction:
   • Identified that certain categories like Office Supplies and Technology had higher return rates.
   • Found that higher shipping costs were associated with a higher percentage of refunded orders.
   • Noted that higher discounts led to an increase in refunded orders, suggesting potential issues with product quality or customer expectations.
4. Actionable Recommendations:
   • Suggested improving product descriptions and quality checks for categories with high return rates.
   • Recommended optimizing shipping methods to balance cost and reliability.
   • Proposed targeted marketing and customer service strategies to address specific regional needs and reduce returns.

By leveraging these insights, the business can make informed decisions to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve overall customer satisfaction.