Indian Shoppers, Please Help: Why Do You Prefer COD and Sometimes Reject Orders?

Hey everyone, I've been running an Indian e-commerce business for a few months now, and there's one recurring challenge that I face: most customers prefer cash on delivery (COD) over prepaid orders. While COD offers convenience and trust to customers, it significantly affects cash flow for businesses like mine. What makes it worse is the high RTO (return to origin) rate. Many customers reject or don’t accept the order when it reaches their doorstep. This means businesses have to bear both forward and reverse shipping charges, which adds to the losses. I’m genuinely curious—why does this happen? Why do so many people prefer COD instead of prepaid, even when online payments are now secure? Why do people place orders and then refuse to accept them? And most importantly, what do you think businesses can do to avoid this problem? I’m asking this not out of frustration but to understand the mindset. If you’ve ever opted for COD or rejected a delivery, I’d love to hear your reasons! Was it because of trust issues, impulse purchases, or something else? Your suggestions and insights will not only help me but also other small businesses improve the shopping experience and reduce such challenges. Looking forward to your thoughts! TL;DR: I run an Indian e-commerce business and face high COD preference and RTO rates. Why do customers prefer COD over prepaid and reject orders? What can businesses do to solve this? Looking for your insights! Edit.I am not talking about people who order on COD and reject it at their doorstep.What factors change their mind between order placement to order delivery.(Note:This happens even after confirming order via phone call)