8 Things Shopify Checks During a Merchant Review

8 Things Shopify Checks During a Merchant Review TL;DR: When Shopify Risk Operations opens a merchant review, they check eight specific data points — chargeback ratio, refund rate, fulfillment evidence, KYC/identity, product compliance, site integrity, customer service responsiveness, and supplier documentation. Prepare evidence for all eight before responding to any review ticket.

A Shopify merchant review is not a friendly chat. It’s a structured assessment run by named reviewers on the
Merchant Trust team, working from a checklist. We’ve seen the same eight items requested across nearly every
review we’ve assisted with at Unholdr — across 200+ merchant cases. If you prepare evidence for all eight
before you respond, the review typically closes inside 14 days. If you respond piecemeal, it drags on for 60-90
days and frequently escalates to suspension.

Bookmark this list. The next time a review ticket lands, work through it top to bottom.

    1. Chargeback ratio over the last 30, 60, and 90 days
Shopify pulls your chargeback count and divides by total transactions in three rolling windows. The 30-day
window is the trigger; the 60 and 90-day windows show whether the recent spike is a one-off or a trend. They
compare against three reference points — your historical baseline, Visa’s Early Warning threshold (0.65%), and
the Visa Dispute Monitoring threshold (0.9%).

Pull the same data before they ask. If your 30-day rate spiked but your 90-day is below 0.65%, build that
narrative explicitly. If all three windows are elevated, explain the structural fix already in place — Shopify
Protect, chargeback alerts, fraud rules tightening.

   2. Refund rate and refund reasons
Refund rate above 5% triggers internal flags. Shopify checks both the percentage and the reason codes.
Common reasons that escalate risk: “not as described,” “different from photos,” “quality issue,” “never arrived.”
Reasons that don’t escalate: “wrong size,” “changed mind,” “duplicate order.”

Export your refund data with reason codes, group by category, and explain any cluster. If 12% of refunds are
“wrong size,” fix the sizing guide and submit screenshots of the change. If 8% are “not as described,” rewrite
the product page and attach before/after. Shopify wants to see you’ve identified and fixed each cluster.

   3. Fulfillment evidence
Shopify checks whether orders are actually being delivered. They want tracking numbers, courier names,
delivery confirmation timestamps, and customer signature scans (where applicable). Stores with vague
fulfillment — no tracking, missing carrier data, “estimated delivery 2-4 weeks” — get flagged as dropshipping
or fraud risks regardless of actual delivery reality.

Export your last 90 days of orders with tracking numbers, average ship-to-delivery time, and on-time delivery
rate. If your average delivery time is over 14 days, expect questions and prepare an answer in advance.

   4. KYC and identity verification
Shopify re-verifies during reviews. They check that the legal business name on file matches your business
registration, that the listed beneficial owner has government ID matching the application, that the business
address is current, and that the bank account on file is in the legal entity’s name. Any mismatch — even
cosmetic — extends the review by weeks.

Pull current documents before responding: articles of incorporation or business registration, recent utility bill
matching the business address, government ID for the listed director, and a bank statement showing the
business account ownership. Submit them all in the first response.

   5. Product compliance and MCC fit
Shopify checks that your product catalog matches your Merchant Category Code and complies with platform
terms. Restricted categories — supplements, CBD, vape, adult, financial services, firearms accessories — get
extra scrutiny. They want compliance documentation: ingredient lists, third-party lab results, age verification
systems, applicable licenses.

If you sell anything in a restricted category, prepare the compliance pack in advance. If you sell mostly in
unrestricted categories with a handful of edge-case SKUs, flag those SKUs proactively and offer to remove
them if requested. Volunteering removal is faster than fighting it.

   6. Site integrity and policy clarity
Shopify visits your storefront and audits the basics — does the site have a working contact page, clear shipping
policy, accurate return policy, terms of service that match what you actually offer, and product pages that
match the prices charged in checkout? They check policy clarity, claim accuracy, and identity consistency.

Audit your storefront the same day a review opens. Update any stale policies, remove broken links, ensure
shipping promises match actual delivery times, and confirm the business name in your footer matches your
KYC file. Small inconsistencies sink otherwise clean reviews.

   7. Customer service responsiveness
Shopify checks how you handle customer complaints. They look at the response time on support tickets, the
percentage of customers who escalate to chargebacks before contacting support, and the tone of your
responses (when they have visibility — usually through dispute documentation).

Export your support metrics: average first response time, ticket-to-resolution time, and customer satisfaction
score if available. A store with 4-hour first response and 24-hour resolution rarely gets escalated. A store with
5-day response times almost always does.

   8. Supplier and vendor documentation
For dropshipping, print-on-demand, and any reseller model, Shopify wants supplier contracts, invoices, and
inventory documentation. They check that suppliers exist, that your relationship is documented, and that you
can actually deliver what you sell. Stores that can’t produce supplier documentation get classified as high-risk
regardless of other metrics.

Gather supplier contracts, recent invoices, supplier contact information, and a list of fulfillment locations. If you
use multiple suppliers, document the breakdown. The goal is to show Shopify your supply chain is real and
traceable.

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   How to package the evidence
Submit one comprehensive PDF or Notion link covering all eight items. Each section should have a heading
matching the item above, a one-paragraph summary, and the supporting documents attached or linked. The
biggest mistake we see is merchants responding piecemeal — three emails over two weeks — which signals
disorganization and extends the review.

The second biggest mistake: arguing with the reviewer about whether they should be checking these things.
They will. Your job is to make their job easy. The cleaner your evidence package, the faster the review closes.

   Frequently asked questions

How long does a Shopify merchant review usually take?
5-14 business days for clean cases with complete evidence on first submission. 30-60 days for cases requiring
multiple rounds of back-and-forth. Cases that escalate beyond 60 days often end in suspension because the
reviewer loses confidence in the merchant’s ability to operate compliantly.

Can I refuse to provide some of the eight items?
Technically yes, but refusal is treated as evidence against you. Shopify’s terms allow them to request these
items, and a refusal usually results in default suspension. The fight you want is over interpretation, not over
whether to comply.

Will Shopify share the specific reason for the review?
Sometimes. Initial review tickets are often generic (“we need to verify some information”). The specific concerns
surface in follow-up questions. Treat every review as if all eight items are in scope until told otherwise.

Does providing evidence for all eight guarantee a positive outcome?
No, but it dramatically improves the odds. We see roughly 70-80% positive outcomes on reviews where
merchants submit complete evidence on first response. We see 20-30% positive outcomes when evidence is
incomplete or delayed.

What if I can’t provide evidence for one item (like supplier docs)?
Be transparent. Explain why and offer alternative documentation. Refusing or going silent is worse than
admitting a gap. Reviewers respond better to honesty about a weakness than to evasion.