Making it clear how customers can reverse a purchase will actually increase the number of purchases. It's a somewhat paradoxical step in our conversion rate optimization framework. Customers want assurances of what will happen after the purchase and that includes doing so in the event the purchase doesn't meet their expectations.

Customers generally are looking to solve problems. Once a potential solution is identified, ie a product is found that addresses the problem, the customer still wants to know what will happen if the product doesn't work as desired. A well designed site will assure customers of what can be done, rather than leaving them guessing.

Give clear guidelines around how problems will be handled. Make it clear the purchase is not a final step in the transaction. A trustworthy company supports customers after the transaction. Make this concisely clear to customers by using simple policies and graphics.

Not every company needs to have an extremely lenient refund policy. It still must be extremely clear to customers what will happen should a problem arise. Making it vague doesn't build trust or help improve conversions. Build trust and assurance. Increase conversions.