reverse logistics

Returns are causing a holiday hangover for retailers

Breaking down holiday returns data reveals a potential headache for retailers

On Monday, millions of Americans celebrated Valentine’s Day, but retailers were still celebrating Christmas. 

While the winter holiday season ended over a month ago for consumers, retailers are still in the thick of it, contending with a mountain of product returns the likes of which they’ve never seen. According to a ​​report from the National Retail Federation, U.S. consumers will return about $158 billion worth of goods purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24. That’s more than a 56% increase...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/returns-are-causing-a-holiday-hangover-for-retailers

Circular logistics saving brands from supply chain woes

The circular logistics model is helping companies large and small contend with supply chain disruptions and product shortages

Just over a month into the new year, supply chain disruptions continue to cause headaches for retailers, creating shortages of everything from trucking parts to semiconductors. But what if brands were able to double, triple or even quadruple the lifetime of their inventories?

Companies large and small are embracing a circular logistics model that allows them to do exactly that. The model enables companies to keep inventories stocked even when supply lines are clogged, all the while making their...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/circular-logistics-saving-brands-from-supply-chain-woes

More shippers address financial and carbon costs of post-holiday returns

Startup easing ecommerce returns logistics raises investment from Maersk Growth (Photo: Shutterstock)

While families across the globe may be done grieving the late arrival of that coveted holiday gift, the same labor shortages and omicron disruptions, including inflation, may impact the next iteration of holiday shopping: returns.

According to commercial real estate firm CBRE’s latest report, approximately 30% of online sales will be returned, as opposed to the 10% return rate of brick-and-mortar sales. While it might be a simple and free process for the consumer, it’s not so much for the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/more-shippers-address-financial-and-carbon-costs-of-post-holiday-returns

Berkshire Grey flips the switch on returns and reverse logistics

UPS said this week that it expects to handle 60 million returned packages through Jan. 22, a 10% increase over last year, with 25% of Americans expected to make at least one return.

That delivery strain reverberates throughout the entire supply chain, and inefficient and manual processes can cut into brands’ revenue as returned items sit in warehouses, unable to be resold.

Warehouse automation company Berkshire Grey is hoping to ease some of that pain with its new Reverse Logistics software...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/berkshire-grey-flips-the-switch-on-returns-and-reverse-logistics

Return to sender: Holiday product returns will stress supply chains

Breaking down the costly process of returning a product

Much ado has been made about holiday sales, and for good reason –– this holiday season figures to be unlike any other as supply chain disruptions continue to complicate the path from retailer to consumer. But not enough emphasis is being placed on the other direction: returns.

The reverse journey from the consumer back to the retailer is arguably an even more arduous one, and it’s compounded by the fact that those returned products occupy the same supply chains as unsold products. With supply...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/return-to-sender-holiday-product-returns-will-stress-supply-chains

How ReturnBear sees the future of online returns

In 2018, retail consultant Steve Dennis predicted that e-commerce returns would become a drag on retailers’ earnings.

“As e-commerce captures a growing share of all retail sales, omnichannel brands that have high return rates and high return handling costs find themselves in the unenviable position of seeing their marginal economics deteriorate — what I refer to as the ‘omnichannel migration dilemma’ — as their online business grows,” he wrote at the time for Forbes.

What Dennis saw and others...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-returnbear-sees-the-future-of-online-returns

Supply chain braces for peak retail returns: How companies should prepare

As e-commerce accelerates, so does its historically neglected underbelly: returns. In 2020 alone, U.S. consumers returned nearly $102 billion of goods to online retailers, a figure that doubled over the course of 12 months. EMarketer predicts a 13.7% jump in U.S. online purchases for 2021, and if approximately 30% of all items ordered online are returned, third-party logistics providers and shippers need to up their returns management game. 

“Consumer buying behavior has changed,” said Gaurav...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/supply-chain-braces-for-peak-retail-returns-how-companies-should-prepare

Pain killer: Happy Returns, Staples join forces to ease online returns

Staples to accept e-commerce returns from Happy Returns

Estimates for e-commerce return rates range from a low of about 8% to as much as 35%, depending on the source. Most experts have centered on estimates of 25% to 30% of all items purchased online being returned.

Some brands make it easier than others to process returns, but for customers, even those often rely on packing the item up, printing out a shipping label, and perhaps most worrisome, waiting sometimes days or even weeks for the brand to refund the purchase price.

Happy Returns has been...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/pain-killer-happy-returns-staples-join-forces-to-ease-online-returns

PayPal dives into post-purchase sector with acquisition of Happy Returns

PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) will acquire e-commerce returns specialist Happy Returns. Terms were not disclosed.

The news was first reported by CNBC.

Frank Keller, senior vice president of consumer in-store and digital commerce at PayPal, told CNBC the acquisition fits with PayPal’s vision moving forward.

“The post-purchase experience is something we’ve been looking into since it’s such a pain point — people want to shop online and return in store, and vice versa,” he said. “For retailers, we’re...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/paypal-dives-into-post-purchase-sector-with-acquisition-of-happy-returns

+ More