Money · Facts & sources
4 sourced facts about retail and online purchase returns, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Answerabout 31%
Nearly a third of retailers report that handling returns meaningfully eats into their bottom line.
Source: Wikipedia, product return (2023) en.wikipedia.org
Answerabout $396 billion
That figure covers both brick-and-mortar and online returns combined, and has only grown larger since.
Source: Wikipedia, product return (2018) en.wikipedia.org
Answerover $9 billion
Abuses of the return process, like wardrobing or receipt fraud, add up to a significant hidden cost for retailers.
Source: Wikipedia, product return (2023) en.wikipedia.org
Answer£20–60 billion
Shipping items back, restocking or discarding them, and processing refunds all add up to a huge logistics bill.
Source: Wikipedia, product return (2023) en.wikipedia.org