# Per-Merchant Refund Rates in German E-Commerce — 2025

> ABOUT YOU leads German merchants with a 22% refund rate; Amazon sits below 0.3%

**Period:** Full Year 2025  
**Market:** DE  
**Data status:** final  
**Data as of:** 2026-04-28T15:36:14.338609+00:00  
**Sample size:** n = 11,769  
**Source:** [https://www.datapods.app/en/insights/consumption/product-categories/merchant-refund-rate-ranking-germany-2025](https://www.datapods.app/en/insights/consumption/product-categories/merchant-refund-rate-ranking-germany-2025)

## Segments

- **Years:** 2025
- **Platform:** email

## Summary

ABOUT YOU's 22% refund rate heads the 2025 German merchant ranking, clustered with ASOS (13%), H&M (13%), TikTok Shop (16%), Temu (14%), and Zalando (10%) at the top — a group united by fashion-heavy assortments and explicitly returns-friendly positioning. Germany's fashion e-commerce sector is projected to reach nearly €33 billion by 2029, and generous return policies remain a core acquisition tool: 85% of German online shoppers say a clear, free return policy is critical to their purchase decision. At the opposite end, Amazon (0.2%), AliExpress (0.3%), and eBay (0.4%) record near-zero rates, reflecting the platform mechanics of large marketplaces where refunds are often handled outside standard email confirmation flows, making them harder to detect. Temu's 14% rate is notable given that Stiftung Warentest rated its return experience 'very good' in March 2025 — the highest score among seven tested platforms — suggesting the volume is enabled by a frictionless process rather than product failure. For marketplace strategists, this spread confirms that return-rate benchmarks must be read alongside platform architecture, not just product category.

## Chart

Ranked horizontal bar chart showing 2025 order-level refund rates for individual German e-commerce merchants. ABOUT YOU leads at 22%, followed by TikTok Shop (16%), Temu (14%), ASOS (13%), H&M (13%), and Zalando (10%). Amazon, AliExpress, and eBay sit at the low end below 0.5%.

## Methodology

Refund rate is calculated per merchant as the share of orders with at least one item flagged as a refund, return, or cancellation, divided by that merchant's total tracked orders in 2025. Only merchants with at least 30 tracked orders and at least 5 refunded orders are included. Merchants are ranked from highest to lowest refund rate. Amazon and Apple's rates are likely understated because their post-purchase refund notifications are less consistently matched to original order records than those of fashion-native platforms — the gap to fashion is real, but the precise floor for these platforms may be higher than shown.

## Citation

Datapods (2026-04-28). *Per-Merchant Refund Rates in German E-Commerce — 2025*. Datapods Insights. https://www.datapods.app/en/insights/consumption/product-categories/merchant-refund-rate-ranking-germany-2025

## About Datapods

Datapods is a behavioral consumer-data platform. The Insights library publishes free, citable statistics derived from a panel of 25,000+ opted-in participants in Germany: observed real behavior (transactions, browsing, media), not surveys. All data is processed within the EU and is GDPR-compliant.

For brand-specific cuts, competitor benchmarks, and granular audience filters across 12,000+ tracked brands, see [https://www.datapods.app/en](https://www.datapods.app/en).