Online shopping return rates are rising, and consumers want more flexibility in return policies

A few days have passed since Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday. While sellers are cheering for the booming orders during the peak season, they also have to worry about the large number of returns that will follow. A survey shows that the return rate of online shopping in the peak season in the United States this year will reach 25%.

On the one hand, sellers are worried about the increased costs of returns, while on the other hand, consumers hope to have more flexible return methods this holiday.

According to the 2021 Consumer Holiday Shopping and Return Behavior Report by returns management technology provider GoTRG , more than 80% of consumers surveyed believe that retailers need to extend the return window (from the previous 90 days to 120 days ) to give consumers more time to return products during the holidays.

More than half of the respondents said they prefer to return products online. When asked what the biggest difficulty was when returning products during the holidays , nearly 50 % of the respondents said it was the long queues they had to wait in when returning products at express delivery points . In addition, 56% of the respondents said that some stores’ cumbersome return policies would prevent them from purchasing products.

In addition, this year's holiday season faces severe supply chain challenges. Despite this, 61% of respondents said they would be less patient than in previous years when returning goods . The survey also found that 45% of respondents said they would buy fewer gifts this holiday season due to supply chain issues , and more than 50% of respondents said gift cards would be their first choice for gifts this year .

Nearly 70 % of respondents plan to buy fewer big-ticket items , such as electronics , this holiday season compared to other years, and nearly 75% said they have already bought holiday gifts in advance.

According to past experience, the gift categories with the highest return rates among consumers include clothing, shoes and electronic products. The main reasons for returns include problems with fit, dislike, inapplicability or defects.

According to the "2021 Holiday Return Insights" survey from Inmar Intelligence, a data-driven technology support services company , 30% of consumers estimate their holiday return rate to be between 11%-20%, and 31% expect their return rate to exceed 20%.

In short, during this holiday shopping season, while sellers are welcoming sales growth, they also have to face a series of problems brought about by rising return rates.

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