Interview Questions › Root Cause Analysis

Order cancellations up 20% within the 24h window

Customer-initiated order cancellations within 24 hours of placement surged by 20% over the last 10 days. Identify why customers are changing their minds.

Context

Overall order volume grew 5%, but net completed shipments are deteriorating due to instant remorse and cancellations.

Clarifying questions to ask first

• Are cancellations concentrated on COD or Prepaid orders?
• Did the estimated delivery timeline (EDT) increase during this period?

How to approach it

1. Analyze cancellation reason taxonomy selected by users during cancellation flow
2. Segment by Delivery Promise Date (Estimated Delivery Days), Payment Type (Cash on Delivery vs Prepaid), and Category
3. Examine competitor flash sales and price drop match algorithms
4. Investigate post-order communication (delayed dispatch confirmation, unexpected shipping fees)

Framework: Cancellation Reason Taxonomy -> Payment Mode Split (COD vs Prepaid) -> Logistics EDT Delivery Promises -> Post-Purchase Friction

Sample answer

• Logistics bottleneck pushed EDT delivery dates from 2 days to 6 days after order confirmation
• Competitor running a headline discount sale on high-value electronics
• Aggressive post-order upselling confusing users into cancelling their primary order

1. 85% of cancellations occurred on Cash on Delivery orders
2. Due to a warehouse sorting capacity constraint, algorithm dynamically inflated promised delivery times by +4 days on the order status screen

Inflated post-order delivery promise dates triggered COD buyer remorse; optimized regional warehouse routing to restore accurate 2-day delivery estimates.

What interviewers look for

• 24-Hour Cancellation Rate (%)
• COD vs Prepaid Cancellation Split
• Estimated Delivery Time (EDT) Accuracy
• Price Competitiveness Index