The order that shipped, travelled four hundred kilometres, and came back
A cash on delivery order is placed at eleven at night. It is packed the next morning and dispatched without anyone speaking to the customer. Four days later the courier attempts delivery. Nobody at the address is expecting a parcel, or the person who ordered it has changed their mind, or the address is incomplete.
The parcel travels back. The brand has paid freight twice, handled the item twice, and earned nothing. Multiply that by the share of unconfirmed cash orders in a typical month and it is usually the largest recoverable cost in a small ecommerce operation.
