E-Commerce Returns Cost Retailers 21% of Order Value: Pitney Bowes

Online returns cost retailers an average 21% of order value at a time when e-commerce return rates are at historical highs, said a Thursday Pitney Bowes report. Return rates in 2021 were 20.8% vs. 18.1% in 2020, said the mailing equipment company. Retailers and consumers “struggle with returns because each sees the other as making the process more difficult,” said Vijay Ramachandran, Pitney Bowes vice president-market strategy for global ecommerce. Three-quarters of respondents to a February BOXpoll survey said their recent returns experiences were “inconvenient.” Some 70% of retailers are trying to lower return costs by addressing transportation or processing costs, but that’s complicated by shared accountability for returns strategies, said the company.