Solving the post-holiday returns problem

Ho ho no! It’s that time of year: holiday returns are on the horizon. This season in particular is going to bring higher return rates as more consumers than ever are expected to shop via mobile devices (mcommerce return rates are double that of brick and mortar). Relaxed return policies to drive customer loyalty, gift-recipient dislike, and buyer’s remorse will also play a role in the reason-for-return. 

Whether a problematic consumer electronic, an ugly sweater, or a piece of jewelry that missed the mark, around 18 percent – or close to $170 billion worth of merchandise – once purchased/gifted/unwrapped, will be heading back to U.S. retailers this holiday season. Though much of it will be in functional and cosmetically perfect condition, putting it back on store shelves is logistically inefficient (consider this: it costs twice as much to process an online return back on shelf as it does to sell it). Plus, packing up and storing seasonal items for a year can compromise space in – what’s most likely – an already packed warehouse.

Here are some additional holiday returns facts:

• Around 18% of all holiday purchases are returned
• $170+ billion worth of merchandise will be returned this holiday season 
• Online-specific holiday returns are projected to reach well over $80 billion 
• The dollar amount of online returns is increasing by 15% annually 
• 25% of total returns for the year take place around Christmastime 
• Less than 10% of inventory ends up back on shelves

It’s no surprise the challenge is daunting. And, considering most of this holiday inventory will not go back on primary store shelves (and will compromise space in an already packed warehouse), having a B2B recommerce plan in place for returned and overstock items – one that recoups the most value – is crucial. 

This is where an online B2B resale platform – one that is backed by technology and data – can help soften the post-holiday returns headache by enabling: 

• Bulk quantities of returned inventory to move quickly and at scale 
• Higher pricing (driven by a large, diverse buyer base)
• Historical data to optimize inventory listings 
• Brand control 
• Efficiency and performance tracking 

As the leading B2B resale platform for returned and excess merchandise B-Stock has built a suite of secondary market sales channels as well as a robust data set on buying and selling trends across the secondary market, post-holiday and all year long. When it comes to holiday-returns specific data across our platform, we see: 

• The top post-holiday returned categories: women’s trendy apparel, toys, specialty kitchen items, and tools
• In Q1 (Jan-Mar) there is 30% increase in inventory from our retail clients 
• 80% of merchandise is customer returns (20% excess/shelf pulls)
• The number of truckloads of returned merchandise doubles from Jan-Mar 
• The amount of dot com inventory increases 40% following Christmas 
• The merchandise is purchased by business buyers including: discount store owners, online resellers, and mom + pop shops.

Unless you have a zero-returns policy – which in today’s retail environment is unlikely – there is no hiding from holiday returns. By facing them head on and applying fresh thinking to the remarketing process, your returns can become a strategic asset rather than a dreaded post-holiday afterthought.

For a more thorough overview of how to tackle holiday returns download our Playbook: How an online B2B resale platform solves the post-holiday returns headache.