Customer cancellation

⚠️ Only supported in the design builder
The cancel button is only displayed in online stores using the design builder. If you use another design template, customers will not see the button yet.

With customer cancellation, your customers can cancel an order themselves from My Account, as long as you have not started processing it. The customer selects a reason, confirms, and the order is cancelled immediately. You don't have to do it manually, and the customer receives a confirmation by email.

How it works

1. The customer logs in and opens the order under My Account

2. The customer clicks Cancel order

3. The customer selects a reason from your list under Why do you want to cancel?, and can add a comment.

4. The customer clicks Cancel the order

The order is then moved to the status for cancelled orders, and the customer receives the standard email stating that the order has been updated ("Your order has been updated") with the new status. If you have activated the email template for cancelled orders, it will be used.

Which orders can be cancelled?

The customer can only cancel an order that still has the default order status – the status new orders receive. As soon as you change the status, for example to "Processing" or "Shipped", the button disappears.

The customer also cannot cancel:

• an order belonging to another customer
• a credit order
• an order where a previous cancellation attempt stopped midway (see «If the cancellation fails» below)

What happens to stock, payment, and bonus points?

A cancellation by the customer does the same as when you cancel the order yourself in the control panel:

An example of stock: A product has 1 in stock, and the customer orders it. Then 1 is reserved and 0 available. When the customer cancels, it becomes 0 reserved and 1 available again.

Get started

Before you start

Customer cancellation is not a module. You turn it on under Order Settings. It requires that the module Stock management with history is activated, so that each cancellation that returns items to stock is logged in the stock history.

1. Go to Settings → Modules

2. Search for Inventory management with history and activate it.

💡 Default order status should reserve items
For the inventory to be correct after a cancellation, the default order status should be one of the statuses that reserve items. See the article "Order status that reserves items".

Enable customer cancellation

1. Go to Orders → Order Settings → Customer Cancellation

2. Read through the description and click Enable customer cancellation

3. We add five suggested reasons. Check them and change them in the section Cancellation Reasons

4. Click Save changes

If Inventory management with history is not enabled, the button is gray and the page shows what is missing.

Settings

When the feature is enabled, the page has three sections. Remember to click Save changes after making changes.

Status

This stock setting only applies when the customer cancels. It does not affect cancellations you make yourself in the control panel.

Email to the store

Turn on Send me an email for each cancellation to be notified every time a customer cancels. The email contains:

• the order number and a link to the order in the control panel
• the customer's name and email address
• the reason and the customer's comment
• the order total and the payment method

Under Send to you can enter another address. Leave the field blank to use the store's email address. The email is written in the store's primary language, regardless of which language the customer used.

💡 Check the payment
The order total and payment method are included in the email so you can quickly see if the payment must be cancelled or refunded manually, for example with an invoice or a payment solution without automatic cancellation.

Cancellation reasons

The customer must select one of the reasons to cancel. You decide which reasons are displayed.

• Click Add reason to create a new one.
• Write the reason in each language the online store uses. The main language is required.
• If a reason text is missing in a language, the customer will see the text from the main language.
• Click the trash can to remove a reason.

You must have at least one reason for the feature to be enabled.

If the cancellation fails

Sometimes the order cannot be cancelled, for example when a payment solution does not respond. The customer will then receive the message "The order could not be cancelled. Please contact us."

• Nothing has changed: The order remains as before, and the customer can try again later.
• The cancellation stopped midway: Stock or payment may already have been changed, but the order has not received a cancelled status. The customer cannot try again and is asked to contact you. Complete the cancellation yourself in the control panel, and check that stock and payment are correct.

The legal requirement for a "cancel button"

The EU has introduced a new directive requiring that it must be just as easy for consumers to cancel an order as it was to place it. This means that online stores are now required to offer an electronic and easily accessible cancellation function – often referred to as a "cancel button" – directly on the website.

For you as an online store owner, it is important to be aware of the new technical and legal requirements.

How the new requirement works in practice

• Easily accessible and without login: Customers must be able to cancel a purchase directly from the website without having to search for forms, send manual emails, or be forced to create a customer account or log in.
• Applies immediately after ordering: The function must be able to be used to cancel orders directly before they are processed or shipped, in addition to functioning as a standard cancellation button after the customer has received the item.
• Simple confirmation: The cancellation must take place in two simple steps. The customer presses the button, enters their name and order number, and confirms the action.
• Automatic receipt: As soon as the customer has confirmed the cancellation, the law requires the system to automatically and immediately send a written confirmation (for example, by email).

When did the rules enter into force?

In the EU (including markets like Sweden and Denmark), the requirement entered into force on June 19, 2026. In other words, if you export and sell goods to customers in the EU, the cancellation button is already an absolute legal requirement.

In Norway, the legislative amendment (new § 20 a of the Right of Withdrawal Act) has been prepared by the government, but the final implementation has been temporarily put on hold pending the formal incorporation of the directive into the EEA Agreement. In other words, it will soon be illegal to lack this function even for purely Norwegian online stores.

Severe consequences for non-compliance

To ensure that online stores prioritize this, the EU has introduced a very strict penalty: If the cancellation button is missing or not set up correctly, the customer's normal 14-day cancellation period is automatically extended to a full 12 months and 14 days. In addition, the business risks heavy fines.

Even though Norwegian legislation lags slightly behind the EU, we recommend staying ahead of the change. By implementing the functionality early, you ensure secure operations, especially if you have international traffic, while also providing customers with a safer and more modern shopping experience.

⚠️ What customer cancellation covers – and what it does not cover yet
Customer cancellation alone does not make your online store compliant with the requirement. It covers the cancellation before you have started processing the order, with automatic email confirmation. Contact us if you are unsure about what applies to your store. This is what it does not cover:
- The customer must be logged into My Account to cancel.
- The button does not function as a withdrawal button after the customer has received the item. Use the right of withdrawal form for that.
- The customer must select a reason. Under the right of withdrawal, the customer should not have to provide any reason to withdraw.

Tips

• Want to know why customers cancel? The reason is listed in the order history of each cancelled order, and in the email sent to the store.
• If you change the default order status of new orders immediately, for example with an automatic flow, customers will never see the button. Check your flow if the button is not displayed.