Increased Holiday Shopping Means Increased Returns

As U.S. retail sales continue to grow, the average rate of return has remained flat at 16.5 per cent in 2022 compared with 16.6 per cent in 2021, says a report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Appriss Retail. The survey says that for every $1 billion in sales, the average retailer incurs $165 million in merchandise returns. Additionally, for every $100 in returned merchandise accepted, retailers lose $10.40 to return fraud. Of the types of return fraud retailers say they have experienced in the past year, half cite returns of used, non-defective merchandise, also known as wardrobing, and 41.4 per cent cite the return of shoplifted or stolen merchandise. One-fifth (20 per cent) attributed return fraud to organized retail crime.