Such items are not easy to purchase online because they need to fit properly and require being tried on before consumers commit fully.įor such items it is becoming common practice to offer fast, easy and even free returns, according to Jordy Leiser, chief executive officer of STELLAService.
REFLECTION SHOES TOPANGA MALL WINDOWS
Several top electronics retailers, including AMZN.O, Best Buy Co BBY.N and Apple Inc AAPL.O, have extended their normal return windows to accommodate the large number of people who will need to initiate returns or refunds over the next few weeks, according to STELLAService, which rates the customer service of the largest retail websites.Ĭategories with the highest percentage of returns will also include apparel and footwear. "Making it easier to return increases loyalty and doesn't increase returns per se," said Fiona Dias, chief strategy officer for ShopRunner, a company that manages returns and shipping for the e-commerce sites of retailers including American Eagle Outfitters AEO.N and Toys R Us TOY.UL. If shoppers know they can bring products back to stores or mail them back to online retailers, they are likely to buy more from that retailer. Kohl's Corp KSS.N, a mid-priced department store chain, has long been praised by retail strategists for its policy of accepting returns without receipts.Įven when returns spike, that can be good news. Nordstrom this year stopped taking $6 off of refunds on returns when an item bought online is mailed back. Kurt Salmon retail strategist Al Sambar said that the returned items often end up in the discount bin, meaning a further danger to margins during a holiday season that has already seen steep discounting.īut retailers have found that easier returns policies, online or off, can be good business. online sales were up 15 percent between November 1 and December 26, according to data firm comScore.īurkeen said UPS expects returns to rise 7.7 percent, meaning returns as a percentage of total sales have actually dipped despite more customer-friendly return policies. The good news for retailers is that most of the jump is simply a reflection of the explosive growth in e-commerce this Christmas season: U.S. “This will definitely be the busiest year for returns,” Ken Burkeen, marketing director of the retail and consumer products division at UPS, told Reuters.
Several other days during the first week of 2012 will also top half a million returns, UPS said. The delivery company expects to handle more than 550,000 returns on Tuesday, a record, and up almost 8 percent from a year earlier. With a Christmas season that has seen record e-commerce sales coming to a close, returns should hit an all-time high on Tuesday for United Parcel Service UPS.N. A view of a store at the Topanga Plaza in Canoga Park, California, November 8, 2011.
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