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Merchant return policy (MerchantReturnPolicy) structured data

shopping knowledge panel with return policy in search results

Many merchants have return policies that outline the process of returning purchased products for customers.
When you add MerchantReturnPolicy structured data to your site, Google Search can use this information to
display return policies alongside your products and in knowledge panels in Search results.
MerchantReturnPolicy lets you specify a link to your return policy page, or details such as the
conditions under which customers can return the product, return methods, return fees, refund options, and more.

A standard return policy for your business that applies to most or all products you sell can be specified using
the MerchantReturnPolicy structured data type nested under the Organization
structured data type using the hasMerchantReturnPolicy property.

How to add structured data

Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page
content. If you’re new to structured data, you can learn more about
how structured data works.

Here’s an overview of how to build, test, and release structured data.

  1. Add the required properties. Based on the
    format you’re using, learn where to insert structured data on the page.
  2. Follow the guidelines.
  3. Validate your code using the
    Rich Results Test
    and fix any critical errors. Consider also fixing any non-critical issues that may be flagged
    in the tool, as they can help improve the quality of your structured data (however, this isn’t necessary to be eligible for rich results).
  4. Deploy a few pages that include your structured data and use the URL Inspection tool to test how Google sees the page. Be sure that your page is
    accessible to Google and not blocked by a robots.txt file, the noindex tag, or
    login requirements. If the page looks okay, you can
    ask Google to recrawl your URLs.
  5. To keep Google informed of future changes, we recommend that you
    submit a sitemap. You can automate this with the
    Search Console Sitemap API.

Examples

Here’s an example of a complete OnlineStore markup with a return policy for products sold to
customers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and which need to be returned by mail to Ireland.
There is a 60-day return window, with free returns, and full refunds. Only new products can be returned.

Here’s an example of a complete MerchantReturnPolicy structured data markup including
return options for customer remorse or defect items as well as a seasonal override limiting the
return window to 30 days.

Guidelines

For your return policy markup to be eligible for usage in Google Search, you must follow
these guidelines:

Technical guidelines

  • We recommend placing return information on a single page on your site that describes the
    return policy of your business. You don’t need to include it on every page of your site. Include the MerchantReturnPolicy structured data type
    under the Organization structured data type. Refer also to the Organization markup for more information.
  • If you have a non-standard return policy for a specific product, specify the MerchantReturnPolicy structured data type under
    the Offer structured data type. Note that the properties supported for offer-level
    return policies are a subset of the properties supported for organization-level return policies.
    See merchant listing markup for the subset of properties that are supported for product-level return policies.

Structured data type definitions

You must include the required properties for your structured data to be eligible for usage in
Google Search. You can also include the recommended properties to add more information about your
return policies, which could provide a better user experience.

MerchantReturnPolicy (nested under Organization
using the hasMerchantReturnPolicy property)

Use the following properties to describe the standard return policies for your business.

Required properties (choose the option that best suits your use case)
Option A
applicableCountry

Text

The country code that the return policy applies to (where the product is sold and will be returned from).
Use the two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
country code formatting. You can specify up to 50 countries.

returnPolicyCategory

MerchantReturnEnumeration

The type of return policy. Use one of the following values:

  • https://schema.org/MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow:
    There’s a set number of days to return a product.
  • https://schema.org/MerchantReturnNotPermitted:
    Returns aren’t permitted.
  • https://schema.org/MerchantReturnUnlimitedWindow:
    There’s an unlimited amount of time to return a product.

If you use MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow, then the
merchantReturnDays property is required.

Option B

Finite or unlimited return windows

The following properties are recommended when returnPolicyCategory is
set to MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow oder MerchantReturnUnlimitedWindow.

Recommended properties
merchantReturnDays

Integer

The number of days from the delivery date that a product can be returned. This
property is only required if returnPolicyCategory equals MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow.

returnFees

ReturnFeesEnumeration

The default type of return fee. Use one of the following supported values:

  • https://schema.org/FreeReturn: There’s no charge to the consumer to
    return the product. If used, don’t include the returnShippingFeesAmount
    property.
  • https://schema.org/ReturnFeesCustomerResponsibility: The consumer
    needs to handle and pay for the return shipping themselves. If used, don’t include
    the returnShippingFeesAmount
    property.
  • https://schema.org/ReturnShippingFees: There’s a shipping fee
    charged by the merchant to the consumer to return the product. Specify the
    (non-zero) shipping fee using the
    returnShippingFeesAmount property.
returnMethod

ReturnMethodEnumeration

The type of return method offered. Use one or more of the following values:

  • https://schema.org/ReturnAtKiosk: The item can be returned at a kiosk.
  • https://schema.org/ReturnByMail: The item can be returned by mail.
  • https://schema.org/ReturnInStore: The item can be returned in store.
returnShippingFeesAmount

MonetaryAmount

The cost of shipping for returning a product. This property must be specified only when
returnFees equals https://schema.org/ReturnShippingFees.

Finite or unlimited return windows

The following properties are additionally recommended if
returnPolicyCategory is
set to MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow oder MerchantReturnUnlimitedWindow.

Recommended properties
customerRemorseReturnFees

ReturnFeesEnumeration

A specific type of return fee if the product is returned due to customer remorse.
See returnFees for possible values.

customerRemorseReturnLabelSource

ReturnLabelSourceEnumeration

The method by which the consumer obtains a return shipping label for a product.
See returnLabelSource for possible values.

customerRemorseReturnShippingFeesAmount

MonetaryAmount

The cost of shipping for returning a product due to customer remorse. This property
is only required if there’s a non-zero shipping fee to be paid by the consumer to return a product.
See returnShippingFeesAmount for details.

itemCondition

OfferItemCondition

The acceptable conditions of an item which can be returned. You can provide multiple conditions which are accepted.
Use the following values:

  • https://schema.org/DamagedCondition: Damaged items are accepted.
  • https://schema.org/NewCondition: New items are accepted.
  • https://schema.org/RefurbishedCondition: Refurbished items are accepted.
  • https://schema.org/UsedCondition: Used items are accepted.
itemDefectReturnFees

ReturnFeesEnumeration

A specific type of return fee for defect products. See returnFees for possible values.

itemDefectReturnLabelSource

ReturnLabelSourceEnumeration

The method by which the consumer can obtain a return shipping label for a product.
See returnLabelSource for possible values.

itemDefectReturnShippingFeesAmount

MonetaryAmount

The cost of shipping for returning a product due to defect products. This property
is only required if there’s a non-zero shipping fee to be paid by the consumer to return a product.
See returnShippingFeesAmount for details.

refundType

RefundType

The type of refund(s) available for the consumer when returning a product.

  • https://schema.org/ExchangeRefund: The item can be exchanged for the same product.
  • https://schema.org/FullRefund: The item can be refunded for the full monetary amount.
  • https://schema.org/StoreCreditRefund: The item can can be refunded for store credit.
restockingFee

MonetaryAmount oder
Number

The restocking fee charged to the consumer when returning a product. Specify a value of type Number to charge
a percentage of the price paid by the consumer or use MonetaryAmount to charge a fixed amount.

returnLabelSource

ReturnLabelSourceEnumeration

The method by which the consumer can obtain a return shipping label for a product. Use one of the following values:

  • https://schema.org/ReturnLabelCustomerResponsibility:
    It’s the responsibility of the consumer to create a return label.
  • https://schema.org/ReturnLabelDownloadAndPrint:
    The return label must be downloaded and printed by the customer.
  • https://schema.org/ReturnLabelInBox:
    The return label was included when the product was originally shipped.
returnPolicyCountry

Text

The country where the product has to be sent to for returns. This country can be different
from the country where the product was originally shipped or sent to.
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
country code formatting. You can specify up to 50 countries.

Seasonal override properties

The following properties are required when you need to define seasonal overrides for your organization-level return policies.

Required properties
returnPolicySeasonalOverride

MerchantReturnPolicySeasonalOverride

A seasonal override of a return policy to specify return policies for special events, such as holidays.
For example, your usual return policy category is set to MerchantReturnPolicyUnlimitedWindow
but the return window should be limited during holiday sales:

Here’s how to specify multiple seasonal overrides. In this example, the usual return policy is
unlimited, but is limited during the following two date ranges:

returnPolicySeasonalOverride.returnPolicyCategory

MerchantReturnEnumeration

The type of return policy. Use one of the following values:

  • https://schema.org/MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow:
    There’s a set number of days to return a product.
  • https://schema.org/MerchantReturnNotPermitted:
    Returns aren’t permitted.
  • https://schema.org/MerchantReturnUnlimitedWindow:
    There’s an unlimited amount of time to return a product.

If you use MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow, then the
merchantReturnDays property is required.

The following properties are recommended when you need to define seasonal overrides for your organization-level return policies.

Recommended properties
returnPolicySeasonalOverride.endDate

Date oder
DateTime

The end date of the seasonal override.

returnPolicySeasonalOverride.merchantReturnDays

Integer oder
Date oder
DateTime

The number of days from the delivery date that a product can be returned. This
property is only required if you set the returnPolicyCategory to MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow.

returnPolicySeasonalOverride.startDate

Date oder
DateTime

The start date of the seasonal override.

Alternative approach to configuring return settings with Google

Retailer return policies can get complicated and may change frequently. If you’re having
trouble indicating and keeping your return details up-to-date with markup
and have a Google Merchant Center account, consider configuring your
return policies
in Google Merchant Center. You can alternatively configure account-level
return policies in Search Console,
which get automatically added to Merchant Center.

Combining multiple return configurations

If you’re combining various return configurations, keep in mind how
you can override your policy information based on the order of precedence. For example, if you provide both
return policy markup on your site
and return policy settings in Search Console, Google will only use the information provided in
Search Console.

Google uses the following order of precedence (from strongest to weakest):

Troubleshooting

If you’re having trouble implementing or debugging structured data, here are some resources that
may help you.

  • If you’re using a content management system (CMS) or someone else is taking care of your site,
    ask them to help you. Make sure to forward any Search Console message that details the issue to them.
  • Google does not guarantee that features that consume structured data will show up in search results.
    For a list of common reasons why Google may not show your content in a rich result, see the
    General Structured Data Guidelines.
  • You might have an error in your structured data. Check the
    list of structured data errors
    and the Unparsable structured data report.
  • If you received a structured data manual action against your page, the structured data on
    the page will be ignored (although the page can still appear in Google Search results). To fix
    structured data issues, use the Manual Actions report.
  • Review the guidelines again to identify if your content isn’t compliant
    with the guidelines. The problem can be caused by either spammy content or spammy markup usage.
    However, the issue may not be a syntax issue, and so the Rich Results Test won’t be able to
    identify these issues.
  • Troubleshoot missing rich results / drop in total rich results.
  • Allow time for re-crawling and re-indexing. Remember that it may take several days after
    publishing a page for Google to find and crawl it. For general questions about crawling and indexing, check the
    Google Search crawling and indexing FAQ.
  • Post a question in the Google Search Central forum.
Alien Road

So setzen wir das um

Return policy markup addresses a real purchase objection directly in the result. For ecommerce clients competing on trust rather than price, it is worth the implementation effort.

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