Journal
Keep return notes beside conversion, not after it
An apparel client celebrated a week of strong add-to-basket on a wide-leg trouser. The same week, warehouse notes (SKU only) showed a spike in 'too long' returns. The product page used a model twelve centimetres taller than their stated average buyer, with no inseam in the first screen.
Conversion and returns were stored in different inboxes. Merchandising only saw the former until the buyer asked why the re-order felt cursed.
We read both. The page kept the long shot for atmosphere and added a seated crop plus inseam in centimetres next to the size selector. The conversion rate dipped for a fortnight, then settled; the return note did not return at the same volume.
If you only read the path to pay, you will keep pages that sell a photograph. Sit the return reason next to the page that caused it, even when the reason is a single word.