According to the National Retail Federations third annual Return Fraud Survey, completed by 82 retail loss prevention executives last month, more than half of retailers (52%) say their holiday return policies will be more lenient than the policy for the rest of the year, up from 35% who said so in 2007.
In addition, the number of retailers who said their holiday return policy will loosen compared to last holiday season will triple, from 3.4% of retailers to 11.0%. Common changes may include retailers extending the amount of time for returns to be made and also being more flexible to customers without a receipt. In comparison, 17.1% of retailers said their return policy will tighten this holiday season, up slightly from 15.3% last year. In addition, 71.9% of retailers policies will remain the same.
“In a year where practicality is paramount, many retailers are making return policies more flexible for customers who need to bring back duplicate or unwanted gifts after the holidays,” said NRF VP of loss prevention Joe LaRocca. “Retailers seem to be finding a balance between providing good customer service to shoppers while preventing criminals from taking advantage of lenient policies.”
The survey also provided more evidence of a weak economy, as retailers said that returns as a percentage of sales are on the rise. This year, return rates are estimated to reach 8.7% of sales, up from 7.3%one year ago. The amount of merchandise returned to stores this year is estimated to reach $219.1 billion, with $47.1 billion of those returns coming from holiday purchases.
“Consumers experiencing a bit of buyers remorse as a result of the economy may be returning unworn and unused merchandise to stores,” said NRF Vice President of Loss Prevention Joe LaRocca. “While retailers look at returns as a way to provide good customer service, an increased rate of returns is yet another challenge for retailers during a tough economic climate.”
Retailers know the decision to make return policies more lenient may come at a cost. According to the survey, return fraud continues to plague the industry and will cost retailers an estimated $3.54 billion this holiday season, down slightly from $3.6 billion last year. (Retailers will lose $11.8 billion to return fraud in 2008.) However, retailers seem to be tackling the problem, as return fraud is expected to decrease to 7.5 percent of holiday returns from 8.9 percent last year.
Though retailers seem to be confronting return fraud, incidents continue to permeate through most retail stores. According to the survey, most retailers (88.9%) have had stolen merchandise returned to stores within the past year. Retailers also report being victimized by returns of merchandise originally purchased with fraudulent or stolen tender (74.1%) and returns using counterfeit receipts (45.7%).
The unethical practice of “wardrobing,” the return of non-defective, used merchandise-especially in the apparel and electronics categories-continues to be problematic for retailers. Nearly two-thirds of retailers (64.2%) have seen this type of merchandise returned in the past year down from 66.1 percent last year, but up from 2006 levels (56.0%).
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees – about one in five American workers – and 2007 sales of $4.5 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com
