This month may well be busier than all the holiday seasons combined for retailers as there has been a 42% year over year increase in the number of returns just from the first two days of January, and a 16% YOY growth in returns volume over the Christmas and New Year weeks.
Those findings come from returns provider ZigZag which is predicting that January 2024 will bring the biggest-ever wave of returns, according to a press release.
"This influx of returns at the beginning of January is not surprising in the current economic climate and indicative of how consumers are trying to keep spending down. Whilst we're not expecting returns to be up 42% over the whole of January, these figures show we can expect to see one of the busiest January's ever for returns," ZigZag CEO Al Gerrie said in the release.
It's possible shoppers are returning Christmas gifts and purchases now with the intention of purchasing them cheaper in the January sales — a complex situation that retailers will need to carefully navigate, according to Gerrie.
Of returns during Christmas 48% were paid returns.