We may not live in Australia. But when it comes to holiday purchases, the boomerang effect is clearly alive and well – and compelling many retailers to rethink their returns strategy in an effort to protect their bottom lines when their customers’ holiday gift purchases miss the mark.
$966.6B
Total expected value of 2023 holiday purchases across the United States – a 3 to 4% increase over 2022 (National Retail Federation)
31%+
Consumers who said they planned to make returns a part of their holiday shopping strategy this year (UShip Consumer Holiday Shipping Trends 2023)
$173B
Estimated value of holiday purchases that U.S. shoppers are planning to return this year (Optoro)
64%
Customers who choose one retailer over another based on a retailer’s returns policy (Optoro)
$19.50-$27.50
Average returns-related cost for a $50 item (GoTRG)
33.6%
U.S. retailers who said it takes them at least 30 days to relist a returned item (GoTRG)
66.4%
Retailers who now charge restocking or return shipping fees – up from 60% in 2022 (GoTRG)
59%
U.S. retailers who plan to adopt “keep it” instead of return it policies for unwanted holiday purchases whose value is exceeded by the cost of return shipping (Reuters)
16.6%
U.S. retailers that now consider returns to be a severe problem for their business – up from 1.6% in 2022 (GoTRG)
