StoreOps DirectoryPost-Order Failures in Ecommerce Operations
A post-order failure is any operational breakdown that occurs between the moment a customer clicks "buy" and the moment they successfully use the product. This reference library documents common failure modes in Shopify and ecommerce operations.
Failures describe recurring ways ecommerce operations break after an order is placed. Related content: Scenarios show when these failures appear together.
Wrong item picked
fulfilmentThe classic warehouse error.
Customer receives incorrect product.
Return shipping cost, replacement cost, bad CX.
Address validation failure
fulfilmentShipping labels cannot be generated due to bad data.
Carrier rejects label generation due to invalid address.
Delayed shipment, manual intervention required.
Carrier integration downtime
fulfilmentInability to generate labels.
Cannot generate shipping labels.
Backlog of unfulfilled orders.
Inventory sync lag
opsThe root cause of overselling.
Website shows stock that was just sold on another channel.
Overselling, cancellations.
Fraud flag false positive
opsTurning away good money.
Legitimate order cancelled automatically.
Lost revenue, angry customer.
Overselling inventory
ordersSelling stock you do not physically have.
Customer orders an item that is out of stock.
Refunds, lost trust, support tickets.
Payment gateway timeout
ordersMoney is taken but the order is not created.
Order created but payment status is pending/failed.
Lost revenue, inventory held unnecessarily.
Discount code abuse
ordersPromotions stacking in unintended ways.
Promo code leaked or stacked incorrectly.
Margin erosion.
Email provider blacklist
supportTransactional emails going to spam.
Transactional emails land in spam.
Customer confusion, increased support volume.
Return label generation failure
supportFriction in the returns process.
Customer cannot self-serve return.
Support ticket volume spike.