Taobao announced on August 9th that it will optimize the strategy of 'refund only' (which means that users receive goods but do not return them, only full or partial refunds), and launch a new version of the experience rating system, divided into 'shop experience rating' and 'product experience rating (PXI)', which will replace the previous seller service evaluation system, to balance consumer and merchant rights protection and form a more benign and healthy e-commerce ecosystem.

Under the new measures, for merchants whose overall store experience rating reaches 4.8 or above, the official will not actively intervene and support user refund applications after receiving the goods through the platform communication software 'Wangwang', but will encourage merchants to negotiate with consumers in advance. As for merchants with other scores, the official will grant different degrees of autonomous disposal rights based on the experience rating and industrial nature. The higher the experience rating score, the greater the merchant's autonomous disposal rights.

While granting merchants more autonomous disposal rights, Taobao will also provide merchants with multiple after-sales service solutions, guiding merchants to continuously optimize after-sales service and reduce disputes and losses caused by 'refund only'. In the future, all merchants on the Taobao and Tmall platforms can obtain more opportunities for business growth by improving their service experience. Merchants with higher experience ratings can obtain better search ranking results, which is expected to help improve merchant after-sales autonomy and reduce or cancel after-sales intervention for high-quality shops.

In addition, Taobao has also adjusted the complaint process for 'refund only'. After the merchant initiates a complaint, the official will commission a third-party testing institution to inspect the product. If the inspection passes, the platform will compensate the merchant for their losses.