This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Holiday Hangover - UPS Expects 15% Surge In "Dirty Business" Of Xmas Gift Returns
United Parcel Service expects to handle four million returns the first full week of January, up 15% from two years ago as online sales continue to grow as returns "represent a larger percentage of overall sales." As WSJ reports, more than 20% of returns happen during the holiday season - representing $60 billion in merchandise. While returns may be a boon for delivery companies, they are costly for retailers as returns, replacements and damaged goods represent about 10% of revenue. With return rates as high as 50%, one manager explains "'returns' is just a dirty business... Retailers are really losing their shirts on it."
More than 20% of returns happen during the holiday season—about $60 billion in merchandise, according to Optoro, a logistics provider.
The U.S. Postal Service handled 3.2 million returns in the two weeks that followed last Christmas and said there will be even more this year. United Parcel Service Inc. expects to handle four million returns the first full week of January, up 15% from two years ago as online sales continue to grow.
...
Returns may be a boon for delivery companies, but they are costly for retailers. Best Buy Co. estimates that returns, replacements and damaged goods represent about 10% of revenue and for the year cost the electronics retailer $400 million. The chain is trying to reduce those losses by selling more so-called open-box inventory online and at its stores around the country. Hudson’s Bay Co. , which owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, has tried to encourage customers to return products to its stores, so it can try to land another sale in the process.
“Returns—it is just a dirty business,” said Frank Poore, chief executive of logistics platform CommerceHub, which connects manufacturers with major retailers to fill online orders.
...
Last January, some retailers were surprised by the high number of returns, said Bala Ganesh, retail-segment marketing director at UPS. Mr. Ganesh said some retailers had as many as 30 trailers full of returns sitting outside their distribution centers waiting to be processed.
...
“Retailers are really losing their shirts on it,” said Tobin Moore, Optoro’s CEO. “As the returns rate increases, more retailers are paying attention to it.”
...
In addition, 62% of consumers said they had returned an item bought online in 2014, compared with 51% in 2012.
...
The return rate for online purchases is about three times as high as for items bought in stores, where shoppers can try on and test their choices. UPS’s Mr. Ganesh said that some high-end apparel retailers have return rates as high as 50%.
...
The holidays are the real crunchtime for returns, said co-founder Matt Watson. “If you don’t manage to sell them in season, they might not sell at all.”
* * *
It's the thought that counts... and before the credit card bill arrives, it looks like returns will make retail sales this holiday look even less exciting than they already are.
»
- 8958 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
can we return Obama?
... only if you know where he came from ....
Good luck returning something to Mars.
Kenya
Barbara Pierce Bush's womb?
I doubt Obama came from there, although he's stupid enough to be Dubya's twin
Kenya
Can we return his Nobel Peace price by dropping it in Sweden with a drone?
"... only if you know where he came from .... "
Langley and Glilot Junction.
the banksters need to repay us.
Droll, and btw, you bow to the banksters everyday with your lifestyle.
If you don't like it, you can keep it so we can save the planet.
Clothes retailers need to learn to enforce strict standards of measurement and detail them in the sizing.
Then people might have a chance of buying the right damn size.
Sizing is a global joke.
What size are you? Well I'm an 33 in Levi and a 32 in x and a 36 in Y. None of which match in inches!
Get your shit together, learn how to make a standard that makes sense that anyone can measure their own fit or keep getting buried in returns.
Your choice retailers.
Wise words! .....will not be heeded.
got a 36 waist one time that measured 44. look honey, i don't need to go on a diet, these jeans are a 36 and they fit me fine!
They can't because many guys will get out of work this way...
Here's a real life example from my home this holiday season. Offspring wanted a futon for his room. Found one on clearance at $TGT.com for $140 + $20 handling + free shipping. It arrives with a puncture in the box which damaged the seat. Long story short - return is aproved and they send UPS to pick up the futon and refund $160.
What kind of cost did they eat shipping a futon across the country and back?
I was going to buy a trampoline from Academy for $199 but they charge another $220 to ship LOL
Too bad,
It'd be nice change to see your avatar bouncing up and down.
Well, considering they probably only had $ 4.50 invested in the cost of said Futon.....the return trip shipping is offset by all the other Futons that arrived unscathed.
either way, its a win for UPS. they rented thousands of budget rental trucks and hired many thousands of temp help for these couple months. Sucks for the drivers, since those rental trucks don't have shelves in them like the real UPS trucks, but it also gave many thousands of people at least some work for a few months around this holiday season, which is at least something. coupled with the recent drop in fuel prices, this has made UPS's stock have a nice leg up lately, which has been nice. maybe their dividends will finally inch up a bit too. Either way, UPS has been a winner. I consider it sort of a 'short' on all brick and mortar stores, which are closing up all over the place. I'm not trying to pimp the stock, just pointing out that its been an excellent company to own.
large is small, medium is large, small is... depends on average BMI in your country.
Men want to believe they have a 32" waist. Retailers just sell them that dream.
please elaborate on the "dirty" aspect.
GDP Bitchez
I can't remember the last time I walked into a store to buy a big ticket item and actually found someone who knew what they were talking about. I bet if they spent more time on training and finding qualified sales help their returns would go down.
.
Maybe if they got paid a living wage, they would be of some use. /sarc
I agree. Those people are useless for the most part.
I've seen where they even take advantage of people's ignorance and sell them crap they don't even need. Of course, it could have been due to their own ignorance as well.
When I want to buy a 'big ticket item', such as a new TV; I will do all of the research on my own, find the best price online, and go to the B&M retailer to look at it - then buy it, if I like what I see. Usually the drone employee will walk up just in time for me to say, "I'll buy that one". The last time I was buying a TV, the drone told me what it cost, and I put $3,570 in cash on the counter, and he acted like I was from Mars or something. He said that he couldn't accept cash at his station. LOL They made me go up front, and the people up there acted as if they'd never seen money before. I should have walked, but I really wanted the TV. lol
What is TV?
Is that like cocaine or meth?
You spent $3570 on a tv? are you insane?
lol I gave the older one to the kids, as I upgraded.
I almost NEVER buy anything for myself, but I decided to spurge a little. What was so funny to me is how the Best Buy employees didn't know how to handle a cash transaction of that size.(I NEVER use credit cards but I have them just in case)
A freaking TV for $3,570? Can you drive it to work?
I haven't spent that much on all the TV's I've bought in my entire life.
Shit, I've only recently spent that much on a car.
People forget that the common sized flat screens we take for granted cost about that or more back in 2005-2007. Prices only started to become reasonable around 2009.
In 03' a 40" flat screen was 4K. Don't ask me why I remember. You can buy a 60" now for $900.
Went into a Best Buy. The Apple Rep didn't know what Ipad model I had...(company Ipad),,, said it was an Air 2,,, turns out it was just an Air.
The retailers will already have their 4th q figures out by then.
They will restate them, so more fudge factor.
Fudge is the future !
I don't listen to anyone (article) where they don't know the difference between LOOSE and LOSE.
Loose vs Lose
Nothing that University of Phoenix could not fix ;-)
That is indeed the most annoying typo you often encounter on the intrawebs.
Not to mention, that had to be one of the most horribly designed sites I've ever seen! lol
Can't return what you didn't buy. Die retail and big corporations.
Fuck'em!
Returning goods is unpatriotic! Are you an American or a tally-ban?
"Returning goods is unpatriotic! Are you an American or a tally-ban?"
And possible get a "soft" DC US gestapo, FBI, visit like this "known peace protestor" did.
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/fbi-knocks-door-handle-woman/
She is known to peacefully protest the Einsatzgruppen tactics of Israel against the Palestinians.
"To determine the true rulers of any society, all you must do is ask yourself this question: Who is it that I am not permitted to criticize?" Attributed to Voltaire, but unlikely his.
The banksters need to repay us.
"Come with us! You returned a pair of panties to Kohl's, and we have a waterboard with your name on it."
Suck on a menstrual keffiyeh.
Suck on a cut penis. Oops, sorry you already do Falconfelcher.
You unpatriotic cunts! Dont you know that it is your duty as citizens to buy and KEEP a bunch of shit you dont need??!!??
And rent a storage space to keep it in.
My car has 150K miles. My newest TV is from 2009. Got another one from 2006 and another two from about 2002. My computer is from 2006. I wear my clothes and shoes until they have holes in them. I didn't get a smart phone until 2011. The main reason is the GPS and traffic apps for my work.
I'm ready for the firing squad.
150k? That's barely broken in. 247k on a 1997 Saturn. It's actually been a pretty good car. Must be why you can no longer purchase a new one.
No actually this year I am donating the fuck out of everything trying to reduce my tax liability and pay my Obamacare penalty.
They can't penalize you unless you're getting a refund and then they can take it from your refund. Just make sure you owe a little bit each year.
Used undies are a $6 a pair writeoff per Billy Bob Clinton..
Needed insoles for my feet, bought Dr. Scoll's and superfeet and both made my feet ache. Dr. Scholl's said to send in the receipt and I would get a full refund and superfeet offers free returns or full refunds. Shopping on amazon rocks.
Use corrugated cardboard.
Keeps them dry, and cushions well.
Best part is the shit is free, and disposable.
Spencos are the best. Just get the heel version, not the whole foot version. They have been around forever and ever, and are hard to find but it's worth it. They are a million times better than Dr. Scholls. A pair lasts for years and years.
Absent maybe clothing that doesn't fit, I just couldn't return gifts or re-purpose. However, we for the third Christmas, have sworn off the modern custom. A notable relief for all involved. Plus, we get to claim our contribution toward dragging down the debt machine that is the Fed-US Gov't dictatorship.
broke ass niggazz
Can UPS drive the copper from our warehouse around the block for 6 or 7 hours while we close our books for the year?
This outfit is trying to pump their nosediving stock by offering to share (take) profit from returned, discounted, and resold goods.
https://www.liquidityservicesinc.com/company/news/media-coverage-details...
Who can be bothered returning things? You have to stand in line. Not me.
If I buy something that breaks, I throw it away if it was under $35. If it was over $35, I'll return it if I have the recepit (which I ever do), if not I give it to a friend who is handy and can fix things.
If you buy things that are broken and don't work, it is God's will.
Would you thwart the will of God?
I don't think so.
I'm not taking back my ACER Celeron Chrome book. I lover it.
Get ready for a REALLY long winter starting in January when all of the shopping fucktard fools look at all the Chinese shit laying around their house, the kids are alread bored with the shit and are whining for Mom and Dad to go back to WalMart and get them another fix. Those credit card bills will be coming about the time for next EBT refill.
Amazon warning: a friend of mine was sent a delivery notice by Amazon; they were about to ship him an $1100 Ipad (which he hadn't ordered); someone had somehow used his Amazon account to order it. Here's the kicker: the idiot in Amazon customer service told him a) not to worry; no, don't bother cancelling your credit card; no need (he called the credit card co. and of course they said cancel it NOW), and b) two days after he had called Amazon to tell them about the fraudulent order, they shipped the Ipad anyway (to some warehouse in S. CA where it was signed for by "Mario." Yes, they shipped it two days after being told that the order was a fraud. WTF?
The several customer service reps he talked with had NO concern for the fraudulent nature of the purchase. If he had listed to them he could have been legally liable for future fraudulent purchases on his credit card!! He kept pointing out - look - this is FRAUD. They even told him that if he cancelled his credit card, they could not refund the charged amount (totally untrue)!!!!! To add insult to injury, the refund that they seem to be preparing appears to have subtracted the "stocking fee" - i.e., they are treating a case of fraud as if it were a regretted purchase.
Check your Amazon bill very, very carefully, and don't believe what you are told by their service reps. BTW the people at Mastercard were just fine; they knew it was fraud and what to do.
He is no longer going to have his credit card number stored in his Amazon account. I suppose that reduces risk slightly.
Yeah, I am not sure about that Fuckbox(XboxOne) purchase. I played for five minutes and then found out it was hacked. No wonder shit was not working the way it should. Then we bought "Walking Dead" because Russian wife likes the TV show.(I could give a shit less about that show to be honest). I thought it would be cool and we kill zombies and acquire guns and weapons and all the shit that males like. OH HELL NO. No, that whole game is about what decisions you make. You get to kill one zombie. That game is fucking bullshit even thoug is rated highly. How dumb can you make a video game. Once every ten minutes you get to make one click and make a "decision". The gameplay sucks ass. And I would not even play it.
That you have Assasins Creed has good graphics but still sucks becase all you can do is crawl up the side of building with a sword on your back. Well, la de fucking da. That was the game I for played for five minutes and died twice because I couldn't kill anyone efficiently. You have to remember that I was a master of Red Alert 2 and Resident Evil 3. No, you won't get anything like that from WasteYourMoneyBox. $400 pissed down the drain on that system.
Maybe I am fucking something up and I realize there was a hack but come on. The game play sucks ass. I really do not see any reason not to return the game console. I basically have an expensive blu-ray player which I already have two of anyway. I wasn't even any fun for the kids and just a hassle for Mrs. M and I. What a rip off. That should be embarassing to Gen Y to not be able to come up with a decent game. I am not buying any of more your shitty Gen Y games. I will never buy any more of your consoles. It is not nothing but junk.
I could have bought five rolls of silver dimes.
How long til retailers cancel all returns. Consumers then have the choice of taking a stand or continuing their consumer addiction. Hmm, which will they choose??
Returns are not a boon for companies like UPS. They charge a flat rate that loses money. Mostly its any size any weight (up to maximum limit) for $10. The created a service that make returns simple for customers and a extends a "favor" to there shipping accounts.
" A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone."
THOREAU