How to reduce RTO on COD orders in India and Pakistan

Start with the causes of RTO

COD orders often become RTO when the order is fake or impulsive, the phone number is unreachable, the address is incomplete or wrong, or the customer no longer wants the parcel. A confirmation workflow cannot prevent every return, but it can keep many doubtful orders from reaching packing and dispatch.

The same basic workflow applies to Shopify COD orders in India and Shopify COD orders in Pakistan: verify the phone where possible, request a clear reply, hold orders that still need an answer, check the delivery details, and follow up before shipping.

1. Verify the phone at the COD button

Add the Buy with Cash on Delivery button when you want phone verification before Shopify checkout. The shopper receives a one-time code by WhatsApp or SMS and continues to checkout after entering it.

This step proves that the shopper can access the number. When the checkout phone matches the verified number, the resulting order arrives confirmed. The SMS code is not a post-order Shopify confirmation message.

2. Confirm orders that were not verified

After checkout, ask the customer to confirm by WhatsApp, automated voice call, or email. A voice call asks the customer to press 1 to confirm or 2 to cancel. Keep the request short and make the order details easy to recognise.

English is available for customer messages. Hindi and Urdu are not available, so the confirmation flow should not promise either language. If English is not suitable for a particular customer group, plan a manual follow-up outside COD PRO rather than presenting an unsupported language as automated.

3. Hold orders that still need an answer

Use order hold rules to place matching orders on a real Shopify fulfillment hold. The hold keeps an unconfirmed order waiting in Shopify until the customer responds or your team reviews it. This helps prevent warehouse staff from shipping simply because an order has entered the normal queue.

Set a clear internal rule for confirmed, cancelled, and unanswered orders. A confirmed order can continue to fulfillment. A cancelled order should not be dispatched. An unanswered order should remain held until the follow-up window ends and a team member makes the final decision.

4. Check address risks before dispatch

Review the shipping address for missing house or flat details, an unclear locality, a city and postcode mismatch, or instructions that do not give the courier enough information. Compare repeat orders for conflicting names, phone numbers, or delivery details. Treat these as reasons to review an order, not automatic proof that it is fake.

Ask the customer to correct important gaps before releasing the hold. Keep the corrected delivery details in Shopify so the fulfillment team works from one record.

5. Follow up once, then decide

If the first request gets no reply, send one follow-up through an enabled channel. Avoid sending repeated messages without a clear stop point. COD PRO Auto mode tries the lowest-cost route first, starting with email, then WhatsApp, then a call, and stops on the first reply.

After the follow-up window, review the order using the same rule each time. Release the hold only when the response and delivery details give your team enough confidence to ship.

Prices

Prices are per message by channel and country. The COD PRO app shows the exact current price before anything is sent. See the pricing page for more information.