More retailers are charging fees for making returns
MINNEAPOLIS — We're in the midst of the busy holiday shopping season. But with getting a gift, there's always that chance it has to be returned, or it doesn't fit right.
The National Retail Federation says last year, retailers racked up more than $800 billion in returns. So the question is — can retailers keep up with it?
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It might surprise you to hear that more than 40% of retailers do charge return fees. That includes places like H&M, J. Crew, Zara and others.
Even Amazon is starting to charge for some returns. The retail giant charges customers $1 if they return purchases to a UPS Store when a Kohl's, Amazon-owned Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh store is closer to their delivery address.
We got some clarification from George John, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota, who says it's not as drastic as it may seem.
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"The general trend has been to make it easier to return. For example, Walmart and Amazon have struck deals, especially Amazon struck deals with Kohl's and places like that, so that you can go and return it easier," John said. "So you see both trends and making it easy to return, and at the same time trying to control the costs of managing the returns."
One thing you might be seeing this holiday season is tiered returns, which basically incentivize you to sign up for a loyalty program.
Overall, John says return charges shouldn't impact our Christmas shopping any more than they have in previous years.
