Accepting order withdrawal requests in your Ecwid store

Under EU Directive 2023/2673, effective June 19, 2026, any business worldwide selling goods, services, or digital products online to EU consumers must provide customers with an easy way to withdraw from purchase. This means you might be required to display a prominent “withdrawal button" in your online store so that customers can submit a request to cancel orders or reverse their purchases.

You can enable order withdrawal requests in your Ecwid store and customize the period customers are allowed to back out of a purchase for individual products. For products that are not eligible for withdrawal, you can turn the withdrawal option off.

Enabling order withdrawal requests in your store

After you enable order withdrawal requests in your Ecwid store, customers will be able to fill out and submit withdrawal requests for their orders by clicking a dedicated order withdrawal button or link.

To enable order withdrawal requests:

1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Settings → Cart & Checkout.
2. Scroll down to the Order withdrawal request block.
3. Turn on the toggle.
4. Save the changes.

That’s it. Now, customers can request order cancellation online for products they purchased in your Ecwid store.

By default, order withdrawal requests are enabled for all products in your store and remain available for 14 days after an order gets the Delivered order status in your store admin. You can extend the order withdrawal period or turn this option off for individual products that are exempt.

When a customer submits a withdrawal request for an order, you will be notified in your Ecwid admin panel and by email. Submitting a withdrawal request does not automatically cancel the order or guarantee customers a refund. You’ll need to review the request and decide how to handle it.

Placing an order withdrawal request: Customer experience

Any customer who has previously purchased a product in your online store can place a withdrawal request. This applies to all eligible products within the withdrawal period set for a specific product. After the period is over, the option to place a request is no longer available.

Here’s how customers can place order withdrawal requests:

• From their customer accounts. For that, a customer needs to click the Withdraw order link next to the order and follow the steps to place the request.

  

• From the Order confirmation notification. For that, a customer needs to click the submit a withdrawal request link in the email and follow the steps to place the request.

• (for non-logged-in customers) From the My Account page in your online store. For that, a customer needs to click the Request withdrawal link on the page and specify the order number and email address used for the order. After that, they can click Find Order to get an email with the withdrawal link and follow the steps to place the request.

  

After submitting the order withdrawal request, a customer will receive the Withdrawal request submitted for order # email to their inbox.

If a customer changes their mind, they can cancel their withdrawal request. This can be done by clicking the Cancel withdrawal request link that appears:

• On the withdrawal form page after submitting the request (when withdrawing from email);
• Next to the order in the customer accounts.

Customizing order withdrawal period for individual products

After you enable withdrawal requests, a 14-day withdrawal period is set for all the products in your online store. It means that customers can back out of a purchase no later than 14 days after the order gets the Delivered order status in your store admin.

You can extend the withdrawal period for individual products if you like. For example, if this strategy suits your business better.

To customize order withdrawal period for a product:

1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Catalog → Products.
2. Open the product you want to edit.
3. Click Manage withdrawal settings on the right.
4. In the Withdrawal period field, specify the number of days.
5. Save the changes.

That’s it. You’ve updated the period when customers can place an order withdrawal request for a product purchased in your Ecwid store. This information will be displayed on the product page in your online storefront. Customers can hover over it to see a tooltip with more details.

Turning off order withdrawal requests for a product

You can turn off the order withdrawal option for individual products in your online store if these products are exempt by law. For example, it can be custom-made items or highly perishable goods.

To turn off order withdrawal requests for a product:

1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Catalog → Products.
2. Open the product you want to edit.
3. Switch the Eligible for withdrawal toggle on the right.
4. Save the changes.

That’s it. Now, the order withdrawal request option won’t appear for this product in your online store. Information that this item is not available for withdrawal will be displayed on the product page in your online storefront.

Managing order withdrawal requests placed in your store

After a customer submits an order withdrawal request for a product purchased in your online store, a “(Store name): order # is awaiting withdrawal decision" email is sent to the email address(es) you set to receive admin notifications. You will also get a notification in the To-do list section on the Dashboard page in your Ecwid admin.

Orders with submitted withdrawal requests will be marked as such on the My Sales → Orders page in your Ecwid admin. You can use filters in the upper-left corner of the Orders page to find all orders with withdrawal requests.

After you receive a withdrawal request, you can review it, contact the customer, arrange shipping if needed, and issue a refund in accordance with your return policy and applicable country legislation. After the return is processed, you can update the order status to Delivery cancelled or Returned on the My Sales → Orders page in your store admin.