Survey: Returns extend holiday stress

Cincinnati – Post-holiday returns serve as a way to ensure the stress of the holiday season lasts into the New Year. According to a survey of about 1,200 adults by loyalty program provider LoyaltyOne, one out of every two U.S. shoppers (51%) say that returning gifts adds to their post-holiday stress.



Nearly four out of 10 (39%) say they have re-gifted a present just to avoid the hassle of the retail return process. Sixty-one percent of consumers say they would stop shopping at a retailer after a poor gift return experience. Nearly eight out of 10 Americans (79%) say a positive experience returning a gift to a store that they rarely visit would motivate them to shop more often at that store, and 83% say they would share information about a positive gift return experience with friends and family.



An even greater number of shoppers, 87%, say they would share a negative return experience with friends and family, providing yet additional evidence that the customer relationship is on the line.



Some other key findings from the research on the gift return experience:



• More men indicated they have had a poor experience returning a gift to a retailer (45% of men compared to 32% of women);



• More men indicated they would be motivated to shop more at a retailer they rarely visit after a positive gift return experience (82% of men compared to 71% of women);



• 55% of Millennials (ages 18-24) say they are stressed by the gift return experience, significantly above the rate of the general population (51%);



• 58% of women say they are stressed by the gift return experience, well above the rate of the general population (51%); and



• 55% of Northeasterners say they are stressed by the gift return experience, scoring higher for stress than respondents from the Midwest, South and West.



The survey results are based on a January 21, 2015, online Google Consumer Survey featuring 1,207 responses. The survey’s margin of error is +/- 3.9%.