With the end of 2023 in sight, retailers across the United States are bracing themselves for a post-holiday returns onslaught, which could cost them close to a trillion dollars, as per the National Retail Federation’s predictions.
“We’re heading for a trillion-dollar problem here,” cautioned Tom Enright, a retail analyst at Gartner.
Optoro, a returns-services provider, predicts that U.S. consumers will return goods worth $173 billion between Thanksgiving and the end of January.
Inmar Intelligence, a business dealing with reverse logistics, estimates that for a $100 online order return, shipping, warehousing, and labor costs approximately $27. Gartner’s Enright suggests that companies lose about 50% of their margin on returns.
Companies such as H&M and Zara have begun charging customers for mail-in returns, while others like Amazon are cautioning shoppers about frequently returned items and urging them to reconsider their purchases.
Firms like Inmar are stepping in to handle the influx of returned goods and the complexities of various return policies.
Furthermore, a recent rise in the TikTok trend ‘girl math’ indicates consumers’ attempts to rationalize increased spending despite the financial strain caused by high prices.
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