Prepaid orders almost never come back. COD orders — around 65% of Indian e-commerce — carry the bulk of RTO risk. So the single highest-leverage move you can make is converting risky COD to prepaid before pickup.
Why COD RTOs
There's no commitment at checkout, so impulse and fake orders slip through, and buyers refuse at the door with zero cost to themselves.
The nudge that works
- Confirm the order on WhatsApp before pickup
- Offer a small incentive to prepay (a discount or free shipping)
- Make paying one tap — a link, not a phone call
Done right, 15–30% of COD converts to prepaid — and those orders effectively stop RTOing.