With the holiday shopping season culminating for many on Christmas, now comes the season of returns for retailers. At the end of the 2024 holiday season, The National Retail Federation estimates there will be $890 billion in merchandise coming back. That amounts to about 17% of sales.
There are so many returns that the month has been coined “Returnuary.” January is known as the busiest month for consumers to send back items they do not want, need or that perhaps don’t fit.
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At the end of the 2023 holiday season, about 15% of items, or $743 billion in merchandise, was returned. Experts said as online shopping skyrocketed during the Covid pandemic, more people became accustomed to buying and returning items. According to the software and logistics company Happy Returns, two-thirds of consumers now buy multiple sizes and colors of same item, with the intention of only keeping what they want and returning the others. It’s a practice known as bracketing.
A separate report found that customers are also doing something called wardrobing, in which they buy an item to wear to a specific event, then return it. According to the company Optoro, which helps retailers manage and resell their excess merchandise, wardrobing is up by almost 40% this year.
Processing a return costs retailers about 30% of the item’s original price. As a result, companies are now imposing stricter return policies, including reducing the return time-period and charging re-stocking fees. Many consumers now said they check a company’s return policy before making a purchase.
