Keep Rate

A Smarter Retail Metric for Sustainable Growth

In the ever-competitive retail world, brands and retailers have traditionally focused on tracking return rates and understanding why customers return products. This effort aims to reduce product defects, improve sizing, and refine descriptions. All in service of minimizing costly returns. And while that approach is necessary, it's not the whole story. An often overlooked but incredibly insightful metric is the "Keep Rate."

Why Return Rate Alone Isn't Enough

While return rates do reveal product friction, the process for capturing return reasons is not always accurate. Consider this:

• A customer filling out an online return form may simply select the reason that will allow for the easiest, quickest return, not necessarily the most truthful one.

• A store associate managing returns during busy hours might click the first option in a dropdown just to keep the line moving.

These scenarios introduce bias and inconsistency into return data, which can make it difficult to pinpoint real issues with a product.

Moreover, there is already ample research available on the most common reasons for product returns, including:

• Incorrect sizing or poor fit,

• Poor product quality or defects,

• Items not matching the online description or images,

• Product not meeting expectations,

• Delivery delays or damaged packaging,

• Change of mind or buyer’s remorse.

Retailers should actively leverage this existing body of research to address and mitigate the known causes of returns through better product descriptions, size guides, quality control, and fulfillment processes. But at the same time, they should shift more strategic attention to tracking and improving Keep Rate as a forward-looking performance metric.

Keep Rate

Keep Rate = (Number of Units Customers Kept / Number of Units Customers bought) × 100

Unlike return rate, which tells you what went wrong, Keep Rate tells you what went right. A high keep rate indicates that a product met or exceeded customer expectations that it fit, functioned, and delighted. If you're selling a product that very few customers are keeping, it's time to ask: why are we selling it at all?

Why Keep Rate Deserves a Spot on Every Retail Dashboard

• Spotlight What Works: Keep Rate shifts the focus from damage control to opportunity discovery. High keep rates identify top-performing products that align with customer expectations. These are the products worth amplifying in marketing, replicating in future assortments, or using as benchmarks in product development.

• Diagnose Return Pain Points More Strategically: Retailers already have access to research on common return reasons, such as incorrect size, poor quality, inaccurate descriptions, and more. Instead of relying solely on return logs, brands can overlay these insights with Keep Rate to better understand what is working and what needs to be improved.

• Add a Human Layer to the Data: For products with low keep rates, go beyond automated return data. Send follow-up surveys or feedback requests to customers who returned the product. Ask specific questions. Get to the core of what didn’t work. The more intentional the follow-up, the richer the insight.

• Create Behavioral Transparency for Customers: Consider showing customers how often others keep a product. Think of it like a "reliability score." Just as product reviews influence purchasing decisions, a high keep rate could signal quality and reduce purchase hesitation.

Moving Forward

Retailers need to look beyond damage control and toward product success signals. By incorporating Keep Rate into performance dashboards, merchants can:

• Make more informed buying and merchandising decisions.

• Prioritize products that bring value to customers and reduce operational waste.

• Build a more sustainable and customer-centered retail experience.

  
  

In an age where consumer expectations are high and margins are tight, Keep Rate is more than a metric; it's a mindset shift. It invites retailers to focus on satisfaction, not just salvage. And that, ultimately, is how great retail brands are built.