How to Reduce Chargebacks on Your Shopify Store: 10 Proven Strategies

Use your recognisable brand name — not your legal entity. Add a phone number or URL. A clear descriptor prevents 10–15% of "I don't recognise this charge" disputes before they become chargebacks.

Require signature confirmation for orders over $75. Use AfterShip or Route to give customers real-time tracking. "Item not received" is the second most common chargeback type — delivery proof wins or prevents most of them.

Shopify flags high-risk orders with red indicators. Review orders with multiple failed payment attempts, mismatched billing/shipping addresses, or forwarding addresses. Cancel and refund before shipping rather than processing disputes later.

Shopify Protect automatically reimburses eligible fraud chargebacks on Shopify Payments. It's free — but coverage is narrow. It doesn't cover non-fraud disputes, and only applies to "Protected" orders.

Immediately after purchase, send an email with order details, expected delivery date, and customer service contact. Many chargebacks happen when customers can't reach the merchant — they dispute as a last resort. Make contact easy.

"Not as described" chargebacks happen when the product doesn't match expectations. Use accurate photos, size charts, and material descriptions. If a customer is confused, they dispute. If they're informed, they request a refund instead (which costs you less).

Put your return policy on the product page, checkout, and in the order confirmation email. When customers know they can get a refund, they ask for one instead of disputing. A generous return window reduces chargebacks more than it costs in returns.

Ethoca Alerts and Verifi RDR notify you of impending disputes before they're filed. You can refund instantly and the chargeback is cancelled. Particularly valuable for subscription merchants where recurring billing generates most disputes.

Keep a blocklist of customers who have previously filed chargebacks. Don't refund customers who have already filed — issue in-store credit. Use apps like NoFraud or Signifyd to flag known bad actors before they order again.

When you decide to contest a chargeback, use a professional service. In-house teams win 30–45% of disputed cases; professionals win 70–85%. At $10 per case, outsourcing pays for itself on any order over ~$20.