Delivery and returns policy changes

Why it matters

Delivery and returns are often the deciding factor between two similar shops, and they are easy to compare once laid side by side. A generous returns promise, stated in one line near the buy button, can be a selling point; an unclear one is a reason to hesitate. Watching rivals' terms tells you whether yours still compete.

The competitor website monitor loop is in build and not on sale; when it ships it will flag changes to the policy pages you choose. Until then, a monthly check of each rival's delivery and returns pages keeps the table current.

What you need

• - The delivery and returns pages of up to three rivals, and the delivery information shown on a product page and in the basket
• - Your own delivery and returns terms, as written on your site
• - Your delivery cost per order and your returns cost per order, so options can be judged on margin
• - A previous snapshot of the table, if you have one

Setup

1. Copy each rival's delivery options, charges and free-delivery threshold word for word, from the policy page and from a product page and basket, since they sometimes differ.
2. Copy each rival's returns window, who pays for returns, and any conditions.
3. Record your own terms the same way and add your costs.
4. Paste this snapshot and the previous one into the prompt below.
5. Check any proposed change to your own returns terms against the statutory minimum before you publish it.

The prompt

Paste this into any capable model, followed by the evidence you gathered in the setup.

You are helping a UK online shop compare delivery and returns terms with its rivals.
Below are: this month's snapshot and last month's snapshot (if any). Each row has: business, delivery options and charges, free-delivery threshold, returns window, who pays for returns, conditions, where on the site it was found, and the date. Rows marked OURS include our costs per order.
Do this:
1. Build a side-by-side table of the current terms, quoting the wording for each.
2. List every change since the previous snapshot, quoting before and after.
3. Flag any place where a rival's terms differ between the policy page, the product page and the basket, quoting each.
4. Say where our terms are stronger, equal or weaker than each rival's.
5. Suggest up to four changes to our delivery or returns terms, each with its cost using only our figures, rated for effort (low/medium/high) and likely impact (low/medium/high).
Do not give legal advice; flag anything that needs checking against the law.
Rules:
- Quote the evidence for every point, word for word, and say where it came from (which rival, which page or ad, which date I captured it).
- Label each point OBSERVATION (you can see it in the evidence) or HYPOTHESIS (your reading of why). Never present a hypothesis as a proven cause.
- Never invent a figure, a date, a price or a result. If the evidence does not show it, write "not in the evidence".
- Use British English and plain words.

Snapshots:
[paste here]

Doing it by hand today

Check the pages at the start of each month and before each seasonal peak, when terms often change.

Know the floor. For goods bought at a distance, the cancellation period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations ends 14 days after the day the goods come into the customer's physical possession, with different rules for split deliveries. A rival offering more than the minimum is making a choice you can match or answer.

Model a new free-delivery threshold with the shipping threshold tool before you change it.