Returns Costly For E-Retailers
BOSTON (CBS) --- Convenience, free shipping and liberal return policies have helped make online shopping extremely popular.
You might think what's good for the customer is also good for retailers. But it turns out there is a downside to all that convenience and that is the cost of returns for the retailer.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
Returns Costly For E-Retailers
Online orders are streaming into warehouses all over the country and that's big money for retailers but a Fed Ex survey finds that a third of all those purchases will be returned.
While in many cases it won't cost customers a thing, it is costing retailers quite a bit.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting some retailers have begun to track their customers buying habits and are considering offering incentives to those who return less.
Some retailers are considering alerting customers when they put the wrong size in their online shopping cart, based on past purchases.
Massachusetts retailers association president Jon Hurst says this is not a new problem.
"Whether it's a dress for an important occasion, buying it, using it and then returning it or a big screen television for the Super Bowl, these are issues retailer have had for sometime," Hurst said.
