When to send it
A return is expensive twice: once in shipping and handling, and again in the customer who may not come back. The best time to learn why is while the return is happening. Put this survey on your returns page, so customers fill it in as they arrange the return, or link it from the return or refund confirmation email. If your returns portal already has a reason dropdown, this survey goes further than a one-word code ever can.
Add ?product= and ?order_id= to the link when your email tool or returns app can fill them in. The first question then names the item, and each answer arrives already matched to its order.
Why these questions
The first page asks whether this is a refund or an exchange, then for the main reason. The two together are revealing. A customer exchanging for another size still wants your product; a customer asking for a refund because it looked different from the photos is telling you the listing let them down.
The reasons separate problems you can fix in different places. Fit belongs to sizing and size charts. Photos that don't match belong to your product pages. Quality belongs to the product or the supplier. Damage and wrong items belong to the warehouse. Changed my mind and ordered several to choose from are normal shopping behaviour, and it's worth knowing how much of your return rate they explain before you panic about it.
Customers who say it doesn't fit are asked how: too small, too big, the wrong length or a cut that didn't suit them. Anyone reporting a mismatch with the photos, a quality issue, damage, a wrong item or something else is asked for a little more detail.
The second page uses a customer effort question: we made it easy to arrange your return, on a seven-point agreement scale. A painful returns process turns a fixable disappointment into a lost customer. The final question asks whether they'd shop with you again. A no from a customer whose problem was easy to fix is a warning about the experience, not the product.
The coupon
Each customer who finishes gets a unique 10% code for their next order, whatever they answered. Unique codes keep it off deal sites, and a customer who has just returned something needs a gentle reason to give you another try.
What to do with the answers
Group returns by product and by reason each month. One product with a high share of looks-different returns needs new photos this week. If wrong items or damage climb, talk to whoever packs your orders, and use the damaged or wrong item template for the reports themselves. When fit dominates, the size and fit survey tells you which measurements to change. To track how easy returns feel over time, run customer effort for checkout and returns alongside this one.