Замість того щоб чекати заміни товару, споживач просить повернення коштів.

Замість того щоб is a fixed way to say instead of doing something.

• замість by itself is usually followed by a noun or pronoun:
  • замість кави = instead of coffee
• When Ukrainian wants instead of + verb-ing, it often uses:
  • замість того щоб + infinitive

So:

• замість того щоб чекати = instead of waiting

A very literal breakdown would sound unnatural in English, so it is best learned as one chunk.

Because after замість того щоб, Ukrainian commonly uses the infinitive to name the action.

So:

• замість того щоб чекати = instead of waiting

English uses an -ing form here, but Ukrainian uses the infinitive. Also, in this sentence щоб does not mean purpose, like in order to. It is just part of the fixed expression замість того щоб.

The verb чекати often takes the genitive in Ukrainian when it means to wait for.

Compare:

• чекати автобуса = to wait for the bus
• чекати відповіді = to wait for an answer
• чекати заміни = to wait for a replacement

So заміни is genitive singular.

You may also hear чекати на + accusative, for example чекати на заміну, but чекати заміни is very normal and especially common in formal language.

Because товару depends on заміни.

• заміна чого? = replacement of what?
• товару = of the product

So:

• заміни товару = replacement of the product

Both words are in the genitive, but for different reasons:

• заміни is governed by чекати
• товару is governed by заміна

Both are possible, but they sound a little different.

• просить повернення коштів sounds more formal, official, or customer-service/legal
• просить повернути кошти sounds a bit more direct and verbal

In complaints, policies, and consumer-rights language, Ukrainian often prefers noun-based expressions like:

• повернення коштів = refund / return of funds
• заміна товару = replacement of the product

So this sentence has a formal, business-like tone.

The important point is that повернення is the thing being requested: a refund / return of funds.

For nouns like повернення, the singular forms of nominative, genitive, and accusative look the same, so the ending does not help much by itself. In practice, learners can treat просити повернення коштів as a set formal pattern meaning to ask for a refund.

So you do not need to overthink the ending here; just recognize the whole phrase.

Because кошти is a plural-only noun in Ukrainian, meaning funds / money in a formal sense.

Its base form is:

• кошти = funds

In the sentence, it appears as коштів, the genitive plural, because it depends on повернення:

• повернення коштів = return of funds

This is very common in official language about refunds, banking, and payments.

Кошти is more formal than гроші.

• гроші = everyday money
• кошти = more official funds / money

So in a consumer complaint, refund request, or legal text, повернення коштів sounds more standard and professional than повернення грошей, even though both are understandable.

Yes, споживач is grammatically masculine singular. But in legal, official, and general statements, it is often used generically for the consumer regardless of sex.

If you specifically want a feminine form, Ukrainian can use споживачка, but in formal consumer-rights style, споживач is very common as the default term.

Yes. Ukrainian word order is fairly flexible.

For example, you could also say:

Споживач просить повернення коштів замість того щоб чекати заміни товару.

The basic meaning stays the same. The version in your sentence puts the instead of... part first, which gives more emphasis to the contrast:

• not waiting for a replacement
• asking for a refund instead

You will often see this written as замість того, щоб with a comma before щоб, especially in careful written style.

So many learners may expect:

Замість того, щоб чекати заміни товару, споживач просить повернення коштів.

The sentence you were given writes замість того щоб without that internal comma, which you may also encounter. The main thing for understanding the grammar is that the whole opening part functions as one introductory clause, and the comma before the main clause is needed.