Product Returns

Online shoppers have come to count on not only free shipping, but free returns as well. Experts say retailers can expect, on average, about $158 billion of merchandise sold during the recent holiday shopping season to be returned. While some brands are rethinking their return policies, shortening the return window, or even charging a return or restocking fee, there's a bigger picture to consider.  There’s…

The 2022 shopping season, including coveted holiday sales, proved to be anything but typical for shoppers and retailers alike. Issues with rising inflation and tighter budgets, coupled with continued shipping challenges, gave way to new and interesting retail trends. Data from Quantum Metric shows that providing value at every step in the digital experience is…

Most U.S. consumers (three out of five) now rank environmental sustainability as a top factor in their purchasing decisions, and that number jumps to 75 percent for Gen Z. However, while many online retailers are adopting eco-friendly production and sales practices, the post-purchase process remains a challenge to sustainability. Shoppers return between 15 percent and…

It’s time to brace for the inevitable holiday shopping aftermath: returns. Currently, returns are a $760 billion challenge. You can feel this in your own business. Returns are a genuine cost in time, money, infrastructure and opportunity. At the same time, your customers have learned to love flexibility. The challenge for retailers is finding ways…

You want your retail business to be regarded for exceptional customer service and products. Reputation is important, and retailers will go the extra mile to ensure loyal customers are happy. Sometimes these concessions, such as an overly lenient return policy, can have an adverse impact on a retailer’s business. While relaxed return policies may comfort…

The 2022 holiday retail season is officially upon us. Despite shoppers expected to be cautious with their spending, the holiday season is off to a good start, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales showing 2 percent and 5 percent year-over-year growth, respectively, falling in line with National Retail Federation projections for the season to…

Amidst varying themes of the upcoming winter season, an unexpected and adverse development has occurred regarding holiday spending: consumers are having to adjust budgets and consider inflationary concerns along with supply chain shortages, both affecting the price and availability of many products this year. As a result, the retail industry will experience much earlier shopping…

Returns without technology solutions currently lose 66 percent of product value. Between wages, transportation, merchandise value loss and disposition loss, this totals about $65.50 per item on the average e-commerce order. Due to record fuel prices and supply chain disruptions, some major retailers are even considering letting customers keep their returns and refunding them regardless…

With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, many retailers still remember the onslaught of product returns from the 2021 season. Now as the decorations are about to come back out, business owners are looking to reinforce their operations in case of a repeat of last year. Statistics from the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed that…

Big-box retailers aren’t the only ones contending with reverse logistics challenges. Returns are an expensive headache for third-party online sellers as well. Vendors on Amazon.com, eBay, Walmart.com, and Wish.com must handle excessive e-commerce returns, as 20 percent of all online purchases are sent back. Online sellers must also contend with higher consumer expectations for a…