Cash on delivery is how most Tunisians buy online, and it is also why so many parcels come back. Every returned parcel costs you twice: the delivery fee out, the fee back, and the stock that sat in a van instead of on your shelf. The good news is that most returns are predictable, and most of them can be prevented before the parcel leaves.
Why COD parcels come back
Cash on delivery accounts for an estimated 70–80% of online transactions in Tunisia. Because the buyer pays nothing upfront, refusing a parcel costs them nothing either. When you look at returned parcels one by one, the same causes appear again and again:
- Impulse orders that were never confirmed. The buyer clicked "order" on an ad at midnight and changed their mind by morning.
- Surprises at the door. The delivery fee or the final price was not clear, so the total feels wrong when the courier arrives.
- Addresses couriers cannot use. A city without a délégation, a street without a landmark, a phone number with a missing digit.
- Unreachable customers. The courier calls once, nobody answers, the parcel goes back.
- Slow shipping. The longer an order waits, the more likely the buyer has bought elsewhere or forgotten.
- Fake or duplicate orders. Pranks, competitors, or the same buyer ordering twice.
Each cause has a fix. The playbook below goes through them in the order they happen, from the first message to the doorstep.
1. Make the full price clear before the order
Say the product price and the delivery fee before the customer commits, in the chat and on your landing page. "89 DT + 7 DT livraison" is better than "89 DT" followed by a surprise at the door.
2. Collect an address a courier can actually use
Ask for the information in the order Tunisian couriers need it:
- Phone number first (and check it has 8 digits).
- Governorate, then délégation or city, from a list rather than free text.
- Street and a landmark: "near the pharmacy", "in front of the mosque".
- Name and any note for the courier.
A form that asks in this order, like the built-in form on Roodix landing pages, removes most "address not found" returns.
3. Confirm every order, fast
Confirmation is the single biggest lever on your return rate. A short message or call before shipping filters out impulse orders, fixes wrong addresses and reminds the customer that a parcel is coming.
- Confirm within hours, not days, while the buyer still remembers the order.
- Start with WhatsApp, where a customer can confirm in one tap, then call those who do not answer.
- Try up to three times at different times of day before cancelling.
- Record the outcome on the order: confirmed, rescheduled, cancelled, unreachable.
We go deeper on scripts and channels in how to confirm cash-on-delivery orders.
4. Ship the same day you confirm
A confirmed order that waits three days in your storeroom is an unconfirmed order again. Batch your confirmed orders, send them to your courier daily, and tell the customer when the parcel leaves.
5. Make sure the customer is reachable on delivery day
Many refusals are simply missed calls. A message the day the parcel goes out ("your order is on its way, the courier will call you") keeps the customer's phone on and their cash ready.
6. Track delivery rate by ad, product and region
Your overall return rate hides where the problem is. Break it down by the ad the order came from, the product, the landing page and the governorate. You will usually find one ad or one region dragging the average down.
Cut what does not deliver, and tell Meta which orders were confirmed, not just which forms were submitted. Sending confirmed orders through the Conversions API teaches the algorithm to find buyers who accept their parcels.
7. Recover abandoned orders instead of losing them
Not every lost sale is a refused parcel. Buyers who type their phone number on your landing page and then leave are warm leads. Save the phone number as a partial order and follow up within the hour.
What to measure every week
- Confirmation rate: confirmed orders ÷ orders received.
- Delivery rate: delivered parcels ÷ shipped parcels.
- Time to confirm: hours between order and confirmation.
- Delivery rate per ad and per governorate.
Roodix brings these steps together: an AI agent that states prices clearly, WhatsApp and AI-call confirmation, and one-click dispatch to your courier.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good delivery rate for COD in Tunisia?
It varies a lot by product, price and audience, so compare yourself week over week rather than against a single benchmark. Track it per ad and per region to see where to improve.
Should I ask for a deposit to stop refusals?
A deposit reduces refusals but also reduces orders, because most Tunisian buyers prefer to pay at the door. Confirming orders quickly usually gives a better balance.
How many times should I try to confirm an order?
Three attempts at different times of day is a common rule: for example a WhatsApp message, a call later the same day, and a final call the next morning.