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All of the headlines leading up to Christmas were about how retailers and parcel carriers were struggling to keep up with the record amount of online orders and deliveries for the holidays (see WSJ article UPS, Overwhelmed by Online Orders, Warns of Delivery Delays and Reuters article Surging online orders slow Wal-Mart delivery network). But there’s an equally big story that’s just beginning: dealing with all the product returns.
How big of a problem is this? According to a report published recently by CBRE, holiday e-commerce returns could reach $32 billion this year!
Today’s consumer purchases happen more rapidly than ever, making returns an unavoidable aspect of the shopping experience. Every year, billions of dollars worth of returned goods make their way back to retailers, often resulting in excess inventory. Many of these…