2022 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry

NRF and Appriss Retail surveyed retailers to better understand the current returns landscape. This report includes a look at the overall impact of consumer returns, how the holiday season impacts returns, and benchmarking data on return fraud. Some key findings are below:

• Total returns account for $816 billion in lost sales for U.S. retailers
• For the first time since online data has been captured as part of this survey, online return rates are in-line with overall return rates
• On average, retailers expect 17.9% of merchandise sold during the 2022 holiday season to be returned
• The estimated cost of these holiday returns is $171 billion