Keeping Returns

For most readers, the following is news: my wife and I rescued a dog in October.  We’re told that Journey is a 70-pound labradoodle, about three years old.   Before we could take him home, the rescue required him to be neutered.  For the first couple of weeks, we didn’t know him without his cone of shame.  But the plastic one was so disruptive to the tranquility of our mango and avocado farm that we purchased him a “comfy cone,” one which is softer for him and quieter for us when he scrapes it against the wall.

Not knowing the right size, we bought two of the cones online (local retailers didn’t have any large enough on the shelves).  Having found the proper fit and not wanting two cones, we attempted to return the other, but low and behold the retailer didn’t want it either.  Instead, they told us to keep it and credited our account.  This is a growing phenomenon.  According to this story from PBS.org, shipping is often costing too much to justify taking the return.  Apparently, this is not a new phenomenon, just one that only happens sporadically.

What to do with the unwanted one?  Perhaps we could send it to J R.  He needs to neuter a bull (don’t tell him it’s coming). 

Not all developments in the return narrative are so generous, however.  While it is unlikely to figure into your overall costs drastically, some retailers have started charging customers fees to return items.  These charges probably won’t show up in official reports directly, but they could be another small source of inflation.  With a similar goal of reducing returns, some retailers are now shortening the time one has to return an item; it’s kind of like shrinkflation for return duration. 

Last year, U.S. consumers returned $743 billion worth of merchandise or roughly 14.5 percent of purchases.  This is up from just 10.6 percent in 2020; in fact over the last six years, that amount has increased from $300 billion.  Perhaps this is a newfound way to enjoy a serotonin blast when purchasing without the angst of buyer’s remorse when the package arrives.  Firms in America are wonderful at adapting and adjusting.  The Covid-era is a perfect example.  Now faced with growing returns, firms are making new adjustments, treating various circumstances differently.