Blue Yonder: The top reasons shoppers return AI-recommended items are…
A new Blue Yonder survey finds artificial intelligence suggestions do not guarantee that customers will be happy with their purchases.
The “2026 Consumer Retail Returns Survey” from supply chain management technology provider Blue Yonder reveals that 46% of surveyed U.S. consumers who bought a product based on an AI recommendation have returned one in the past year. Overall, 24% of U.S. respondents who purchased a product after receiving an AI recommendation have returned at least one in the past year.
The top reasons for U.S. respondents returning an AI-recommended purchase are that it was different than described (36%) and an incorrect size or fit (23%). That order reverses for U.S. returns overall, where incorrect size or fit is the leading reason at 42% and different than described accounts for only 20%. According to Blue Yonder analysis, this pattern suggests AI tools struggle less with fit than with describing products accurately.
Among generations, Gen Z (43%) and millennials (36%) respondents are more likely to have purchased a product after receiving a recommendation from an AI tool or assistant, compared with only 19% of Gen X and 9% of baby boomers. More than half of Gen Z AI shoppers (56%) have returned an AI-recommended item in the past year.
And while 20% of overall respondents said they would trust an AI tool to recommend the right size or fit to avoid a return, that trust ranges from 36% of Gen Z respondents only 9% of baby boomers.
Return policies, tools have impact
More than half of U.S. respondents (51%) said that they have decided to buy from one retailer over another purely because it had a better returns policy. Nearly three-in-10 (29%) have gone further and stopped shopping altogether at a retailer that implemented a stricter return policy in the last year. Gen Z (47%) and millennial (40%) respondents were more likely to have stopped shopping at a retailer that implemented stricter returns policies in the past year, with Gen X (24%) and baby boomer (17%) respondents less likely to have stopped.
[READ MORE: Here’s what online shoppers look for in delivery and returns]
Retailers have adopting new return tracking technologies, such as using AI to monitor return histories and flag frequent returners. When asked about the practice, 30% of U.S. respondents called it a fair way to control costs while 25% said it wouldn’t affect their shopping. However, 24% said these tools are invasive and would make them shop elsewhere.
Forty-two percent of Gen Z respondents return a purchase at least once a month, compared with 14% of baby boomer respondents. However, if a retailer told them they return too often and limited their returns, 47% of baby boomer respondents would stop shopping there entirely, compared with only 33% of Gen Z respondents.
What consumers want in return policies
For a leading 32% of respondents, free returns shipping remains the most important factor when returning an item. Fast or instant refunds (30%) are a close second.
If presented with a fee to return a product, 63% of respondents said they would not be willing to pay, most commonly among baby boomers (80%) and Gen X (70%) compared with millennials (48%) and Gen Z (34%).
More than half (55%) of U.S. respondents have been told by a retailer to keep a product they wanted to return in the past year, unchanged from 2025, with 67% of those saying it made them more likely to shop with that retailer again.
Respondents would also accept store credit for a future purchase (51%), a discount or partial refund (31%), or a discount on a future purchase (28%), while only 21% would not accept any offer in exchange for not making a return. Notably, only 36% of respondents across all five markets surveyed are willing to accept store credit, compared with 51% of U.S. respondents.
Now in its fourth year in the U.S., the Blue Yonder 2026 Consumer Retail Returns Survey was fielded by a third-party provider in September 2026. Blue Yonder surveyed more than 5,000 consumers, including 2,000 in the U.S., and global consumers across Australia, France, Germany and the U.K.
