U.S. retailers need to invest more in efficient reverse logistics tools such as a return-to-vendor software like ReverseLogix, following billions of product returns in February from holiday sales in 2017.
An industry forecast showed that post-holiday returns had reached around $90 billion as of the end of that month. The National Retail Federation said that overall sales in the past year reached almost $692 billion.
Early Preparation
It may be a few months before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but you should plan ahead of the busy season particularly if you want to avoid processing costly returns next year. Some experts believe that the growing popularity of online shopping led to an increasing rate of product returns.
It seems plausible since customers are limited to what they only see from their computers and smartphones when buying an item. As a result, resellers found an opportunity to do business by taking customer returns off the hands of retailers.
Reverse Logistics
Resellers are busier with handling product returns during the first two months of each year more than any other month. Many of these products end up on online auction sites, which sell them at a steep discount.
If you’re looking for the right channel to process returns, knowing how much you’re willing to spend will be important. An in-store processing is the cheapest option, but it’s not likely as efficient when done by a third-party logistics provider. The in-store strategy requires some of your workers to address a customer’s return instead of focusing on selling items.
The amount of post-holiday merchandise returns in 2017 indicated that the resale market is already a huge market. While retailers know that someone else is willing to pick up rejected items, the ideal practice should involve limiting returns to a bare minimum. This not only saves money, but also lets you devote your time to other important tasks.