The New York Times pre New Year's story has utilized the DynamicAction commissioned IHL study, The Hauntings of Returns, as a key statistic in their piece surrounding the financial and environmental cost of returns that can wreck havoc on a retailer’s bottom line. The majority of product sold was already discounted and will not return to their “proverbial shelves” but more likely to a discounted channel or liquidator.
Below please find a key excerpt:
In highly competitive apparel sales, longer return windows are the norm. Gap gives customers 45 days to return or exchange products; at Walmart, shoppers have 90 days to return or exchange clothing and other merchandise. Apparel retailers see an average of 10 percent of sales returned, according to a study on returns by the market research firm IHL.
