Retailers prepare for post-holiday returns
Shoppers expected to return twice as many items this year
Shoppers are projected to return twice as many gift items this year./
New York
A huge surge in online shopping during the pandemic has been a savior for retailers, but it comes at a price.
Shoppers are expected to return twice as many items as they did during last year’s holiday period, costing companies roughly $1.1 billion, according to Narvar Inc., a software and technology company that manages online returns for hundreds of brands.
Retailers don’t want the returns, but they do want shoppers who may not feel safe going to stores to be comfortable buying things they haven’t seen or tried on in person.
People have been doing so much online buying since March that carriers like UPS and Fedex were already at full capacity before the holiday shopping season. And online sales just keep soaring. From Nov. 1 though Tuesday, they spiked 32 percent to $171.6 billion, compared with the yearago period, according to Adobe Analytics. The massive challenges of shipping COVID -19 vaccines in the weeks and months ahead could put further pressure on the system.
That means shoppers who return items may not get refunds until two weeks after they’re sent back to the store, said Sara Skirboll, shopping expert at deals site RetailmeNot.
Many companies are offering more locations where customers can drop off returns, which cuts down shipping costs and gets refunds to shoppers more quickly.
Last year, Kohl’s began allowing Amazon returns at all of its 1,000 stores — customers drop off items for free, with no box or label needed. This year, Amazon customers can also return items at 500 Whole Foods Market stores. That’s in addition to Amazon’s deal with UPS to allow similar drop-offs at UPS stores.
Happy Returns, a Santa Monica, California-based startup that works with about 150 online retailers like Rothy’s and Revolve, has increased its number of drop-off locations to 2,600, from more than 700 last year. That includes 2,000 Fedex locations.
“It’s a great time to be in the returns business. Every day, there’s a record,” said David Sobie, CEO and co-founder of Happy Returns, noting he’s processed 50 percent more returns in December than November.
A growing number of retailers are asking shoppers to not even bother sending back certain rejected items.
When Dick Pirozzolo wanted to return a too-small jersey he bought for $40 on a website called Online Cycling Gear, he was pleasantly surprised with the response. The site told him to keep it, discard it, or give it to a friend or charity — and it will send him the right size for an extra $10.
David Bassuk, global coleader of Alixpartners’ retail practice, says stores are increasingly making it easier for shoppers to feel less guilty about returning items.
“If they’re not sure of their size, they order both sizes,” he says. “If they’re not sure which color, they order both colors. And if they’re not sure which item, they order them all. But it’s costly to the retailers, and the retailers are not well positioned to handle all the cost.”