As surging e-commerce sales push more goods into the growing retail returns networks, brick-and-mortar retailers are refining their in-store handling of returns, the Wall Street Journal reports.
E-commerce orders are likely to account for nearly half of this year’s volume of consumer returns, which is expected to total between $90 billion to $95 billion worth of merchandise purchased over the holidays—a projected jump of 15% to 20% over 2018. Many of those rejects will get dropped off at the sales counter, meaning retailers could get yet another crack at landing a sale.
The stakes are particularly high for clothing and shoe companies. Customers who order multiple items online and send back the ones that don’t fit, return products at roughly three times the rate of customers who purchase items in-store.
As a result, big-box stores are increasingly allowing shoppers to return online orders at stores, while others are testing pickups and returns of orders from other brands and retailers. Some mall chains and specialty retailers charge customers for return shipping, but allow in-store returns at no charge to drive more foot traffic.
