Datapods|Insights
|Insights

Median Time from Purchase to Refund by Category in Germany — 2025

Results as of

Review Full Year 2025: Fashion shoppers take a median 18 days to return an order; grocery refunds close in 1

Median Time from Purchase to Refund by Category in Germany — 2025Box-and-whisker chart showing the median number of days between purchase and first refund event in 2025, for three German e-commerce categories. Fashion shows a median of 18 days (IQR 11–29 days), Marketplaces 11 days, and Grocery & Food 1 day. Whiskers represent the 25th–75th percentile range.Box-and-whisker chart showing the median number of days between purchase and first refund event in 2025, for three German e-commerce categories. Fashion shows a median of 18 days (IQR 11–29 days), Marketplaces 11 days, and Grocery & Food 1 day. Whiskers represent the 25th–75th percentile range.
Box-and-whisker chart showing the median number of days between purchase and first refund event in 2025, for three German e-commerce categories. Fashion shows a median of 18 days (IQR 11–29 days), Marketplaces 11 days, and Grocery & Food 1 day. Whiskers represent the 25th–75th percentile range.
Info
Sample size
n = 374
Data date
Full Year 2025
Segment
All segments
Platform
Email
Market
Germany

Analysis

The 18-day median return lag in fashion reflects how German shoppers actually use their clothing purchases: items are tried on, worn briefly, and reconsidered before the decision to return is made — a cycle that typically spans two to three weeks. Zalando's own data, used to justify its January 2025 return-window reduction, confirms that 95% of German customers complete returns within 30 days, placing the observed 18-day median squarely in the heart of the distribution. The interquartile range for fashion stretches from 11 to 29 days, meaning a meaningful share of returns land just inside the new 30-day deadline. Marketplaces show a tighter 11-day median, consistent with lower-consideration purchases where dissatisfaction is apparent sooner. Grocery's 1-day figure is not a product return at all — it is dominated by same-day price or stock corrections from services like flaschenpost and REWE, and should be treated as a distinct operational category. Merchants setting return window policy should account for the full fashion distribution, not just the median.

This analysis is based on public segment data. For deeper cuts, use our Enterprise interface.

Methodology

Return lag is measured as the number of days elapsed between a shopper's purchase notification and the first refund, return, or cancellation notification for the same order, matched by shopper identity, merchant, and order reference. Only matches with a lag between 0 and 365 days are included. Categories must have at least 20 matched refund pairs to appear. Electronics and Beauty are excluded because matched pairs fell below this threshold. The chart shows the median lag per category; whiskers mark the 25th and 75th percentile (interquartile range). Data covers German online shoppers throughout 2025.

These insights are based on the Datapods Panel. Our data comes exclusively from users who are compensated for their anonymity. Become part of the panel & earn from your data