It's that time of year again when retailers should start preparing their businesses for holidays returns. The holiday returns season is a very important time of year for both retailers and manufacturers. A typical retail chain will process more than 45 percent of its total annual returns volume between the first week in January and the first week in March. Manufacturers of consumer goods, in turn, will get hit with this same tidal wave of seasonal recalls and product returns about a week to two weeks later as their retail customers process and ship returns to them.