The states with the highest holiday returns rates are…
Processing holiday returns were “big business” for retailers during a majority of the 2017 post-Christmas week.
The highest rate of nationwide returns occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 26, with returns hitting nearly twice the normal rate seen during the holiday season. However, because of their relation to both Christmas and New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that same week saw returns nearly 50% above the normal holiday season rate, according to new data from Appriss Retail, a provider of retail performance improvement solutions, including return authorization technology.
According to data, the Midwest states once again had the highest rate of returns, when comparing total dollars purchased to total dollars returned and exchanged. Missouri had the highest rate of returns with 22.3%, while Illinois had the second highest at 20.3%.
Minnesota had the least rate of returns with 5.8%.
“Now that the holidays are concluded, retail executives can again focus on a wider set of business metrics, including shrink and margin,” the study said. “While consumers rate the convenience of returns as positive, poorly managed return processes and outdated policies can contribute significantly to shrink by permitting fraudulent and abusive returns.”
One culprit of this experience can be tied to buy-online-return-in-store (BORIS) returns processes. As companies look to improve their performance and profitability, eliminating friction at the return counter can help attract and retain best customers and increase their long-term value, while still reducing the risk of margin eroding loss, according to the study.
The highest rate of nationwide returns occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 26, with returns hitting nearly twice the normal rate seen during the holiday season. However, because of their relation to both Christmas and New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of that same week saw returns nearly 50% above the normal holiday season rate, according to new data from Appriss Retail, a provider of retail performance improvement solutions, including return authorization technology.
According to data, the Midwest states once again had the highest rate of returns, when comparing total dollars purchased to total dollars returned and exchanged. Missouri had the highest rate of returns with 22.3%, while Illinois had the second highest at 20.3%.
Minnesota had the least rate of returns with 5.8%.
“Now that the holidays are concluded, retail executives can again focus on a wider set of business metrics, including shrink and margin,” the study said. “While consumers rate the convenience of returns as positive, poorly managed return processes and outdated policies can contribute significantly to shrink by permitting fraudulent and abusive returns.”
One culprit of this experience can be tied to buy-online-return-in-store (BORIS) returns processes. As companies look to improve their performance and profitability, eliminating friction at the return counter can help attract and retain best customers and increase their long-term value, while still reducing the risk of margin eroding loss, according to the study.