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The stat: Shoppers returned 1.39 billion orders globally following the 2022 holiday season, a 63% increase year-over-year (YoY), per Salesforce.
Holiday hangover: After a relatively strong holiday season, retailers are beginning to feel the weight of returns as inflation drives more consumers to return online purchases.
Merchants using Loop Return’s platform processed 133,000 returns on December 26 and December 27 alone, a 33% spike YoY, per Insider.
UPSexpects to handle 5 million more returns this year than last year, per Supply Chain Dive, which the company partly attributes to the convenience of returning items at The UPS Store locations.
A serious problem: Return rates are growing faster than revenues for 91% of retailers, per a survey by Appriss Retail and Incisiv. With returns rates rising so quickly—posing a serious threat to profits—more retailers are adding fees to help cover the costs of reverse logistics, despite previously fearing that charging for returns would turn off customers.
Most—70%—of US consumers say they would be willing to pay more for a convenient returns experience, per a survey by Loop. Half say they already have.
But free returns continue to be an important purchase consideration for 87% of US shoppers, per a survey by Happy Returns and TRC.
These diverging data points indicate the need for retailers to move beyond a one-size-fits-all returns policy, and instead offer shoppers multiple options to improve convenience and the customer experience.
Looking ahead: We expect ecommerce returns volumes to grow 4.2% this year to $211.76 billion, as consumers continue to practice bracketing and budget concerns drive shoppers to be more selective with their purchases.