Administration
Product hints answer the question that would otherwise lead to a return.
A short sentence like “Runs one size small.” shows in the buy box of the product above “Add to shopping cart”, for all variants. The suggestions show which products need one: they work out from the reasons of the return shipments where a reason reaches the threshold. Every hint is created at the product.
In the adminOrders › Return shipments › side menu Product hints › Hints and Suggestions
What a product hint shows in the shop
Where does a product hint show in the shop?
All hints of a product show in the buy box between the choice of variant and “Add to shopping cart”, as a blue Shopware notice. They appear in the language of the shop, otherwise in the default language; without a hint nothing shows there.
The hint stands above quantity and “Add to shopping cart”, for the “Sneakers City Run” for example “Runs one size small. We recommend ordering one size up.”
It applies to all variants: when the customer chooses another size, the hint stays. It also shows in the buy box of a shopping experience.
Several hints show as a list in the order of their position, the smallest first. The “Summer Dress Lina” has two: one on the size and one on the colour.
The reason of a hint never shows in the shop; it only steers the suggestions. A line break in the text is kept in the shop.
Suggestions: which products need a hint
The suggestions show where a reason comes up conspicuously often
The page “Suggestions for product hints” works out on every opening at which product a reason reaches the threshold: one row per main product and reason, counting the orders of the last 90 days by default.
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In the side menu of the return shipments click Suggestions under Product hints.
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The highest share is at the top. For the “Summer Dress Lina” 8 of 63 pieces sold came back with “Too large”, that is 12.7 %.
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Read what the customers write: a click on the newest comment opens all comments on this reason.
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Open the row menu “···” and choose Write hint. It opens the tab “Return shipments” at the product; there you create the hint.
What the columns of the suggestions mean
The table scrolls sideways; the column “···” with the row menu stays on the right. It is ordered by the highest share, then by the most pieces, then by product and reason, 25 rows per page.
Product is the main product with all its variants; the name leads to its tab “Return shipments”. Reason is the conspicuous reason.
Share of sales: pieces back with this reason divided by the pieces sold, with one decimal.
Returned and Sold: the pieces with this reason and all pieces of the product sold in the period.
Newest comment in quotation marks, followed by “+n” for more; without a comment it says “no comment”.
Scrolled to the right follow Last return shipment, the day of the latest return shipment counted, and the Product number.
Filter on the right chooses one or more reasons, Reset all shows all again; the choice stays until the admin is reloaded. Reload works out the list again.
If no reason reaches the threshold at any product, the page says “No suggestions” with the threshold in the sentence; the link leads to the configuration.
When does a suggestion come about?
A pair of main product and reason is in the suggestions when all of this applies. Counting is as in the tab “Return shipments” at the product: sold without cancelled orders and free replacement deliveries, back without declined return shipments, b-stock neither. The numbers are the defaults.
- The orders of the last 90 days and their return shipments count, whole days from midnight in your time zone, today included.
- At least 5 pieces came back with the reason.
- The share reaches 10 % of the pieces sold; exactly on the threshold counts.
- The product has no hint with this reason yet. A hint without a reason or with another reason does not take the suggestion out.
- The suggestion was never rejected with “Reject hint”.
- The product still exists.
Counting happens on every opening without a cache; only “Reject hint” is stored. A reason that only exists as text at old return shipments, because it was deleted, cannot get a hint; its suggestion only goes away with “Reject hint”.
Worked example: 5 of 49 pieces are a suggestion, 5 of 51 are not
With the defaults 10 %, 5 pieces and 90 days the plugin compares whole numbers: back × 100 has to be at least 10 × sold. A product with “Too small”:
Suggestion
sold in 90 days49 pieces
back with the reason5 pieces
minimum: 5 ≥ 5yes
threshold: 500 ≥ 490yes
Share of sales10.2 %
No suggestion
sold in 90 days51 pieces
back with the reason5 pieces
minimum: 5 ≥ 5yes
threshold: 500 ≥ 510no
Share of sales9.8 %
| sold | back with the reason | minimum 5 | threshold 10 % | result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 5 | yes | 500 ≥ 490 yes | suggestion, 10.2 % |
| 50 | 5 | yes | 500 ≥ 500 yes, exactly on the threshold | suggestion, 10.0 % |
| 51 | 5 | yes | 500 ≥ 510 no | no suggestion, 9.8 % |
| 30 | 4 | 4 ≥ 5 no | 400 ≥ 300 yes | no suggestion, 13.3 % with too few pieces |
| 63 | 8 | yes | 800 ≥ 630 yes | suggestion, 12.7 %: “Summer Dress Lina” with “Too large” |
Both thresholds have to be reached; the minimum guards against chance with few sales.
Set the thresholds of the suggestions
The three values are in the configuration in the card “Dashboard and product hints”. They only apply under “All Sales Channels”; with a single sales channel chosen, the card warns in yellow “Applies to all sales channels only”. A value below 1 counts as the default.
Where to find them in the configuration (Orders › Return shipments › side menu System › Settings):
Card Dashboard and product hints › From share of the pieces sold in percentFrom this share of the pieces of a product sold that came back with the same reason the suggestions propose a hint; with 10 about every tenth piece.
Card Dashboard and product hints › From pieces sent backAt least this many pieces came back with the reason; both thresholds have to be reached. This guards against chance with few sales.
Card Dashboard and product hints › Period in daysThe orders of these last days and their return shipments count, whole days with today.
Read the comments of the customers on a reason
A click on the newest comment opens the window “Comments on "Too large" (Summer Dress Lina)” with all comments on this reason from the last 90 days, the newest first. At the product the same click opens the comments of the chosen period.
Comment in quotation marks, as the customer wrote it when creating the return shipment.
Variant: the size that came back; the column is only there for products with variants.
Return shipment leads to the return shipment, Registered names the day. Close ends the window.
Create a hint at the product
Create a product hint: at the product in the tab “Return shipments”
A hint is only created at the main product, in the card “Hints” of the tab “Return shipments”. If there is a suggestion, “Create as hint” takes over the reason; “Create hint” at the top right creates a hint with or without a reason. The tab as a whole is shown in the chapter Order, product and customer.
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Open the product, for example with Write hint in the suggestions or through Catalogues › Products, and choose the tab Return shipments.
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The card Hints shows the suggestion: “Too large” for 12.7 % of the sales of the last 90 days, 8 of 63 pieces.
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Click Create as hint. The window “Create hint” opens with the reason “Too large” and the next position.
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Write the Text for the customer, for example “Runs one size large. We recommend ordering one size down.”
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Click Save. The hint is saved at once, without “Save” of the product page, and shows in the buy box.
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The card now lists the hint, and the suggestion is gone, because the product has a hint with this reason.
What the window “Create hint” asks for
The window has three fields and a grey line below: “Shows in the buy box above "Add to shopping cart", for all variants. The reason never shows in the shop.” A product can have any number of hints, also several with the same reason.
Reason is optional; without one it says “No reason”. With a reason the suggestions no longer suggest the product for this reason.
Position is required, a new hint gets the next number. The smallest position shows first in the buy box, on the same position the older hint.
Text for the customer is required and shows in the buy box above “Add to shopping cart”, for all variants. A line break is kept.
Translate a product hint
Translations go through the language selection at the top of the product page. When you choose another language there and open the hint, the text field is empty and shows the text of the default language in grey.
Enter the text in this language and save. If the field stays empty, the shop shows the text of the default language in this language.
If you create a new hint in another language, it also gets this text in the default language; it can be adjusted there afterwards.
Why the suggestion shows other figures than the card “Reasons”
The suggestion always counts the days of the setting, 90 by default. The cards of the tab count the period chosen at the top, “12 months” by default. For the “Summer Dress Lina” with “Too large”:
“12 months”: 22 of 169 pieces sold came back with the reason, 13.0 %.
The suggestion still says “of the last 90 days”: 8 of 63 pieces, 12.7 %.
With “90 days” the card “Reasons” shows the same 12.7 % as the suggestion.
“All time” at the product counts every order without a start date; the statistics count “All time” from the month of the first return shipment.
Maintain hints and reject suggestions
All product hints of the shop on one page
The page “Product hints” shows every hint with product, reason and text, ordered by product and then by position. New hints are not created here but at the product.
Hints in the side menu under “Product hints” opens the page.
The search Search product hints … finds product name, product number and text.
Reason shows a light grey “--” without a reason; Hint shows the text in the language chosen at the top of the admin, otherwise in the default language.
Scrolled to the right follow Created and Product number. You can sort by product, created and product number, 25 hints per page.
Filter chooses one or more reasons; empty it says “All”.
Without hints it says “No hints”, and To the suggestions leads to the suggestions.
Change or delete a hint
You change and delete in the list “Product hints” and at the product in the card “Hints”, each time through the row menu “···”. Deleting removes the hint in all languages, and it is gone from the buy box at once.
In the list: Edit opens “Edit hint (Summer Dress Lina)”, Go to product the tab at the product, Delete asks first.
As when creating, the window saves at once with Save.
At the product the row menu of the card has Edit and Delete.
Delete asks in the window “Delete hint”: “The hint is deleted in all languages:” and shows the text.
Reject a suggestion when a hint does not help
Not every conspicuous reason can be settled with a sentence in the buy box. For the “Rain Jacket Nordwind” “Not what I wanted” reaches 10.2 %, 5 of 49 pieces. “Reject hint” takes the pair of product and reason out of the suggestions for good, also out of the suggestion at the product.
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In the suggestions open the row menu of the row and choose Reject hint in red. At the product the same button sits with a red outline next to the suggestion.
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The window says what happens: for “Rain Jacket Nordwind” no suggestion with the reason “Not what I wanted” will ever come again, not even after new return shipments with this reason.
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Click Reject hint. The row disappears, a green message confirms it.
Hints at products with variants
Hints belong to the main product and apply to all variants. When you open a variant, the card “Hints” shows the texts of the main product and leads there; creating and changing only works at the main product.
At the variant “M” the card “Return shipments” only counts this variant: 52 sold, 14 back, 26.9 %. View all variants opens the main product.
“The hints apply to all variants and are kept at the main product.” Below it the texts follow as a list; Edit hints at the main product leads there.
At the main product the card Per variant shows which size comes back most often; a rate above that of the product is highlighted, for the dress “L” with 31.6 %.
Common questions
Where does a product hint show in the shop?
In the buy box of the product between the choice of variant and “Add to shopping cart”, as a blue notice. Several hints show as a list in the order of their position. Without a hint nothing shows there.
Does a hint apply to all variants and sales channels?
Yes. A hint belongs to the main product and shows for every variant. It has no sales channel and shows in every sales channel, in the language of the shop, otherwise in the default language.
Does the customer see the reason of a hint?
No. The reason never shows in the shop. It only tells the suggestions that the product already has a hint for this reason.
When does the plugin suggest a hint?
When at least 5 pieces came back with the same reason in the orders of the last 90 days and that is at least 10 % of the pieces sold, the product has no hint with this reason yet and the suggestion was never rejected. All three numbers are in the configuration in the card “Dashboard and product hints”.
What happens when I reject a suggestion?
For this product and this reason no suggestion will ever come again, not even after new return shipments. This cannot be undone. You can still create a hint by hand at the product at any time.
Why does the suggestion show another rate than the card “Reasons”?
The suggestion always counts the days of the setting, 90 days by default; the card “Reasons” counts the period chosen at the top of the tab, 12 months by default. With “90 days” both show the same figure.
Can a product have several hints?
Yes, any number, also with the same reason. They show in the buy box in the order of their position, the smallest first.
How do I translate a product hint?
Through the language selection at the top of the product page: choose the language, edit the hint, enter the text and save. If the field stays empty, the shop shows the text of the default language.
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