In last week’s IWR Newsletter, we reported on retail return scams and how 10% of returns are a return scam of some sort. This week, we have several other aspects of return scams to share.

Online sales in 2021 were just over $1 trillion with $218 billion (20.8%) in returns, of which $23.2 billion (10.6%) were fraudulent. That’s a lot. IWR has also previously reported how retailers can use returns to create opportunities for businesses to grow and build customer trust.

Many retailers cringe at the thought of a returned product, but the reality is the more a shopper buys, the more they will return. The upside is that return rates are roughly the same from less-frequent shoppers than they are with your highest-volume customers. Customer service in the return process builds trust, increasing sales per customer. When a retailer can find ways to turn a return into an alternate-product purchase, both parties’ benefit.

Download the NRF report on retail returns