US consumers returned an estimated $428 billion in merchandise to retailers last year, approximately 10.6 per cent of total US retail sales in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), which found apparel comprised 12.2 per cent of the total returned merchandise. Of the returns, roughly 5.9 per cent were fraudulent, equating to $25.3 billion.
While the total rate of returns is in line with recent years, online returns more than doubled in 2020 from 2019 and are a major driver of the overall growth of returns. In 2020, e-commerce accounted for $565 billion or 14 per cent of total US retail sales. Approximately $102 billion of merchandise purchased online was returned, with $7.7 billion (7.5 per cent) labeled as fraudulent.US consumers returned an estimated $428 billion in merchandise to retailers last year, approximately 10.6 per cent of total US retail sales in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), which found apparel comprised 12.2 per cent of the total returned merchandise. Of the returns, roughly 5.9 per cent were fraudulent, equating to $25.3 billion.#
NRF and Appriss Retail released a report on such data.
“Last year, we saw an increase in returns of online purchases as the pandemic forced more consumers to shop online,” said Mark Mathews, NRF’s vice president of research development and industry analysis. “Retailers view the return process as an opportunity to further engage with customers, as it provides additional points of contact for retailers to enhance the overall consumer experience.”
The survey found that for every $1 billion in sales, the average retailer incurs $106 million in merchandise returns. Additionally, for every $100 in returned merchandise accepted, retailers lose $5.90 to return fraud, NRF said in a press release.
The top categories of merchandise returned include auto parts (19.4 per cent), apparel (12.2 per cent), home improvement (11.5 per cent) and houseware (11.5 per cent). More than a fifth of returns were completed through credit cards, followed by cash (12.7 per cent) and debit cards (7 per cent).
The vast majority of retailers expect to see the bulk of returns during January this year.
The survey of 62 retailers was conducted between October 19 and November 2 last year.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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