The US is experiencing its annual "return frenzy" in the aftermath of Christmas, according to a report by Axios. Data from Adobe Analytics shows that starting Dec. 26, returns surged 25% to 35% compared to earlier in the month, with the peak return season expected to last several weeks.
According to the report, each year, Americans return billions of dollars worth of unwanted Christmas gifts, making this tradition one of the largest financial sinkholes for the retail industry.
According to Seel, a return management platform, it is estimated that by 2025, approximately US$1 trillion worth of goods (around HK$7.8 trillion) will be returned annually across the US, with holiday returns alone accounting for an additional 16%.
The most commonly returned items include clothing and footwear with sizing challenges, jewelry prone to style mismatches, and electronic gadgets that may be redundant or incompatible with recipients' lifestyles. On average, the value of returned items ranges between US$100 and US$200 (approximately HK$780 to HK$1,560) per item.
However, a significant portion of these returned goods never makes it back to store shelves. According to Emily Hosie, founder of the open-market returns platform REBEL, many brands lack cost-efficient processes for handling returns, leading to an estimated 38.1 billion kilograms of returned goods being sent to landfills globally each year, resulting in substantial waste.
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