The Dark Side of Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Managing the Surge in Customer Returns

Over the past few years America’s ‘Black Friday’ concept has begun infiltrating the UK marketplace with retailers pulling out all the stops, eager to create a gift-buying frenzy with shoppers. On the heels of Black Friday comes Cyber Monday, the day of the year that marks the highest volume of online sales, and provides even more incentive for shoppers to spend. Last year alone UK shoppers spent £3.3bn over the four-day period^[1] between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, making it an incredibly lucrative y few days for most retailers. However, with all the spending and, let’s face it, impulse buying that occurs between Friday and Monday there is plenty of space for consumers to experience some amount of buyer’s remorse. In 2015 almost 5% of purchases made over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend were returned to the retailer, equating to £180 million – and the number of returns is expected to rise this year. The predicted increase in online purchases, which bring with them incredibly high return rates (up to 40% in some cases), and heightened consumer expectations of relaxed return policies, will both contribute to the reason-for-return this holiday season. No matter the reason, it’s crucial for e-commerce retailers to have an efficient plan in place for returned merchandise, this includes the stock that can’t go back on virtual shelves and is slated for liquidation.

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