A study of 1,000 online shoppers on the rise of routine returns, who does it most, and what it is quietly costing everyone.
Free returns changed how a generation shops. Nearly two in five younger shoppers now treat their home as the fitting room, ordering several options and sending most back. The behaviour is normal, expected, and increasingly built into the purchase decision itself.
Retailers are caught between service and cost. Shoppers say generous returns make them buy more, but the same generosity drives the return rates that erode margins, a tension the industry has yet to resolve.
Return habits by shopper ageshare who "buy to try, return most"
Commissioned by a retail logistics firm. Fielded and published by Miss Investigate. Full question wording available on request.