U.S. Retailers Tighten Return Rules as Fees and Shorter Windows Spread

Overview

• About 68% of retailers now charge fees for returns, a rise from roughly 43% five years ago according to industry tracking cited in recent coverage.
• Average refund windows at larger brands have shortened from about 43 days to 38 days and some merchants have introduced item-specific limits such as Home Depot’s 30-day seasonal and seven-day appliance rules.
• Retailers point to high handling costs and rising fraud as drivers of the changes, with a Loop survey reporting common problems including false claims, customers returning different items, and 'wardrobing.'
• Tech tools and vendors are being used to enforce new rules: platforms and third-party firms are flagging frequent returners, adding verification checks and, in Amazon’s case, sending informational notices to high-volume returners.
• Consumers are pushing back by checking policies more often and abandoning purchases, with Loop finding 63% of shoppers have stopped buying from a retailer or walked away from a purchase because of its return policy and Trustpilot linking return-policy complaints to lower merchant ratings.