Retailers Tighten Return Policies Amid Rising Fraud

As fraudulent returns increase, retailers are implementing stricter policies, but the environmental cost of returns continues to grow.

Retailers are tightening return policies due to a rise in fraudulent returns, with 'wardrobing' being the most common form of fraud.
Total retail shopping returns in 2023 amounted to $743 billion, 14.5% of all sales, a decrease from 16.5% in 2022.
Online return rates are higher than in-store, with online merchants dealing with returns on 17.6% of their sales.
Retailers are implementing return fees and other measures to discourage fraudulent returns, with 81% of merchants implementing return fees in 2023.
Despite these measures, the environmental cost of returns is growing, with US returns generating 16 million metric tons of carbon emissions and up to 9.5 billion pounds of landfill waste each year.