- In December, more than 1 million returns occurred each day before Christmas
- 1.4 million returns expected on National Returns Day, Jan. 3, a fifth consecutive annual record, up 8% from prior year
Record breaking Black Friday and Cyber Week e-commerce sales jumpstarted the holiday returns season, with a larger flood of packages going back to retailers, even while many presents sat under the tree, according to UPS (NYSE:UPS).
“While the day after Christmas used to be reserved for long return lines at department stores, the growth of e-commerce has changed when and how consumers return gifts,” said Alan Gershenhorn, Chief Commercial Officer. “A customer-friendly returns program is now an essential part of any successful e-commerce program, and UPS continues to expand its suite of innovative solutions to help shippers. This season, UPS added Returns Manager, a free platform that allows e-commerce merchants to customize return shipments according to their e-tailer policy.”
In December 2017, consumers shipped more than 1 million returns packages to retailers daily, a pace expected to last into early January 2018. On UPS National Returns Day, predicted to be Jan. 3, the count is expected to peak at 1.4 million packages, up 8% from a year ago and marking a fifth-consecutive yearly record. The returns delivered in 2017 are part of the 750 million packages UPS is projected to deliver between Thanksgiving and New Year Eve, a nearly 40 million increase from last year.
According to the 2017 UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper™ study, 75% of consumers have shipped returns back to the retailer, an increase of seven points from 2016. Also:
- 79% of those surveyed said free shipping on returns is important when selecting an online retailer;
- 44% said the top issue encountered when returning an item online is paying for return shipping;
- Top elements also include an easy-to-return online experience and a no-questions-asked policy.
Services include:
- UPS Returns Manager is a portal offering shippers control and visibility over their returns. The service allows shippers of all sizes to create and manage returns policies and designate the return destination;
- UPS Print Return Labels can be included in outbound shipments to simplify the returns process;
- UPS Electronic Return Labels can be emailed to consumers directly from UPS to improve their returns experience;
- UPS Returns® Plus allows the merchant to send a driver to deliver a return label and pick up the return package from any address;
- UPS Returns® Exchange is when a driver simultaneously picks up the return item in exchange for the replacement item delivery;
- Optoro, a technology company that helps retailers and manufacturers manage, process and sell returned and excess inventory. Together, the companies provide a one-stop shop reverse logistics solution that combines UPS’s operational and logistics expertise with Optoro’s software platform that maximizes recovery value;
- UPS Access Point™ locations offer secure, convenient delivery and returns through more than 27,000 local retailers, secure lockers, and The UPS Store® locations in North America and Europe.
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