We’re Witnessing the End of Free Return

As we know, inflation has reached its highest level in nearly four decades. Now some retailers are loaded down by too much of the wrong sorts of inventory. In order to increase sales, merchants tend to offer free returns.

However, e-commerce returns have gone up to 95% in the past seven years. One estimate shows that the US returns alone create 5 billion pounds of landfill waste and 15 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to the amount of trash produced by 5 million people in a year. That’s why merchants begin to adjust their return policies successively, such as Zara and Nordstrom.

A recent study from Cycleon found almost two-thirds (64 percent) of U.S. consumers are willing to pay extra when returning a parcel to subsidize greener carrier options. They believe that charging for returns can reduce waste to a large extent.

According to CouponBirds’ data, more retailers chose to charge for returns in 2022. Return fees are likely to become more common among retailers. Among the top 50 US retailers, like Amazon, JCPenney, and Hobby Lobby, only 30% of retailers offer free returns while 70% of them charge for re-stocking fees, pick-up fees, or shipping cost.

A recent study from Cycleon found almost two-thirds (64 percent) of U.S. consumers are willing to pay extra when returning a parcel to subsidize greener carrier options. They believe that charging for returns can reduce waste to a large extent.

According to CouponBirds’ data, more retailers chose to charge for returns in 2022. Return fees are likely to become more common among retailers. Among the top 50 US retailers, like Amazon, JCPenney, and Hobby Lobby, only 30% of retailers offer free returns while 70% of them charge for re-stocking fees, pick-up fees, or shipping cost.

CouponBirds’ data shows that among the retailers who charge for return, 22% of retailers specialize in clothing, 18% of retailers own department stores, 8% of retailers mainly sell shoes, retailers specializing in food, crafts, office supplies, and other products each account for 4%, and retailers who sell tools, vacation rentals and beauty products each account for 2%. In general, the highest proportion of charging for returns is clothing stores and department stores, and shoe stores come next.

Nowadays, fewer and fewer retailers offer free returns. The era of free returns is coming to an end. Shoppers should be more patient before purchasing, choose the most suitable products and minimize returns, to avoid extra re-stocking fees, pick-up fees, or shipping cost.

References

1. Debter, Lauren, “*Good News For Shoppers: Retail Discounts Are Making A Comeback*”. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.

2. Ryan, Tom, and RetailWire, “*Zara’s Move Suggests Free Returns May Become Rare*”. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.