Answer shipping and returns questions in plain words

Before they buy, shoppers ask an agent how long delivery takes and whether returns are free. The agent answers from your policy pages, so those pages need to state the answers plainly.

Check T3 in the Policies and trust dimension, worth 4 points of 100 and judged by an AI model, which quotes its source.

What we check

An AI model reads your policy, FAQ, shipping, contact and about pages and your homepage footer, the ones robots.txt lets crawlers read, and answers the same 8 questions for every store. As on product pages, an answer counts only when it quotes your text word for word. The questions are:

  1. How many days do I have to return an item?
  2. Who pays for return shipping?
  3. Can I exchange for a different size or color?
  4. How and when is a refund issued?
  5. How much does standard shipping within the US cost?
  6. Is there a free shipping threshold, and what is it?
  7. How long does delivery take within the US?
  8. Do you ship internationally?

Why it matters

Shoppers ask agents about returns and delivery before they buy.

How to fix it

State the return window, return shipping cost and delivery times in plain words on a page agents can read. Typical effort: 1 hour.

  1. In Shopify admin, open Settings, then Policies, and make sure your refund and shipping policies answer all 8 questions.
  2. Use numbers and plain sentences, such as "You have 30 days to return an item." A word like "quickly" can't answer how long delivery takes.
  3. Make sure robots.txt doesn't block the pages that hold these answers.

Check it yourself

Answer each of the 8 questions from your policy pages alone, quoting a sentence for each.

See how your store does

The free audit runs this check and the rest on your store and emails you your score, your grade and your top findings, with the evidence for each.