Online Shopping Returns Fuel Growth in the Warehouse Sector

[cageymaru]

The warehouse sector has experienced growth since 2012 as more consumers buy goods online and return them to eCommerce retailers. 8% of goods purchased in physical stores are destined to be returned, but online shoppers typically return 30% of their purchases. Online retailers are dealing with "reverse logistics," otherwise known as customer returns, by renting out 700 million square feet of warehouse space nationally according to firms in the industry. Another company that assists etailers with customer returns said that consumers will return $100 billion in holiday gifts. Returns take up more space and require more labor than selling products as they have to be sifted through by hand.

"The demand for the space is only going to increase in warehouses unless and until we find a better solution to either return to the store or better incentives for consumers not to return the goods," said Spencer Levy, CBRE's chairman of Americas research and senior economic advisor. "We're talking tens of billions of dollars of goods that have returned and need to either be returned to market, or very often destroyed if the value is no longer there."

 

[gunbust3r]

Wow, so companies with little or no brick and mortar real estate overhead are whining about having to process returns?

They should offer you some % back after 30 days if you don't return an item. People will want that reward and will flip the non defective product on the secondhand market themselves.

 

[geniekid]

It's hard to believe 30% of goods purchased online are returned.

 

[IKV1476]

Or people should research the things they buy and not return so much. I haven't returned an item to a store or online, unless it was defective, ever. I think people don't think and think it is something you are supposed to do to be "normal". Companies should just start charging bigger restock fees for all non defective items.

 

[Inacurate]

My head cannot wrap around that number, THIRTY PERCENT!? I'm sure it's fluffed a little, right....?

There should definitely be a cost for shipment for these people who buy something and then return without the item being defective.

Buyer's Remorse, for any reason, should be paid for by the buyer and not the shipper including restocking fees if that's what it takes.

Amazon created this issue and I think they are taking steps to mitigate it, but it may take a while to correct and other e-tailers will take the brunt of it.

 

[ThatsAgood1jay]

Wow, so companies with little or no brick and mortar real estate overhead are whining about having to process returns?

They should offer you some % back after 30 days if you don't return an item. People will want that reward and will flip the non defective product on the secondhand market themselves.

Jet used to give you a discount if you waved your return rights, not sure if they still do after the Wal-Mart take over.

 

[ThatsAgood1jay]

My head cannot wrap around that number, THIRTY PERCENT!? I'm sure it's fluffed a little, right....?

There should definitely be a cost for shipment for these people who buy something and then return without the item being defective.

Buyer's Remorse, for any reason, should be paid for by the buyer and not the shipper including restocking fees if that's what it takes.

Amazon created this issue and I think they are taking steps to mitigate it, but it may take a while to correct and other e-tailers will take the brunt of it.

There is most of the time a return shipping fee, even amazon won't allow a 'oh I just didn't want it' product to be returned for free.

 

[MMitch]

There is most of the time a return shipping fee, even amazon won't allow a 'oh I just didn't want it' product to be returned for free.

Actually I returned 3 products I simply didn't want because it didn't meet my needs with no fees and they paid shipping.
They didn't ask anything else. I guess having ordered hundreds of things and having 3 returns is Ok.

The problem is the people that think it's their right and use this as a borrowing service more than anything else.
I'm actually OK with those retailer monitoring the return rate and applying fees if threshold is busted.

 

[maxius]

the return sites sell lots of stuff could be junk could be good but man some of the tv lots are damn compelling if one of the larger scereens work

 

[That_Sound_Guy]

My head cannot wrap around that number, THIRTY PERCENT!? I'm sure it's fluffed a little, right....?

There should definitely be a cost for shipment for these people who buy something and then return without the item being defective.

Buyer's Remorse, for any reason, should be paid for by the buyer and not the shipper including restocking fees if that's what it takes.

Amazon created this issue and I think they are taking steps to mitigate it, but it may take a while to correct and other e-tailers will take the brunt of it.

I generally agree except for when the product ad is purposely or in error misleading on what the product size, description or function is. Ive been bit by this before. And frankly I should get a discount on my next order for the hassle it caused.

 

[Deleted member 134608]

It's hard to believe 30% of goods purchased online are returned.

I don't. I read reviews of stuff all the time and people seem to order stuff on a whim just to try it. Maybe make a YouTube video or write some crap on Amazon and return it like its no big deal. With the old brick and mortar method to inspect or test things not even on option for many products, it makes some sense.

Edit: words

 

[777]

It's hard to believe 30% of goods purchased online are returned.

I have a friend who is an extreme impulsive shopper who buys things he doesn't need and immediately returns a few days later. (smh) I used to joke that he's creating jobs. You're saying it's true?

 

[nutzo]

It's hard to believe 30% of goods purchased online are returned.

30% ? I'm way below my quota, guess I need to start returning a lot more stuff....


Only time I've returned something is when it was broken or when they shipped the wrong item.

I'm also had several cases where they sent me a replacement and told me to toss the bad item.

 

[Darunion]

I hate buyers remorse returns. Deal with those at where I work. Except I have to analyze it because the paperwork says "defective". So it really just wastes resources on people that should learn their own lessons.

 

[Cmdrmonkey]

It’s a byproduct of there often being no way to try things first with online purchases. There’s often a big difference between seeing a picture of something and experiencing it first hand. Reviews can be bought and paid for and tastes vary, so sometimes even researching the product doesn’t help. Amazon and others might want to consider opening showrooms where people can try big ticket items.

 

[steakman1971]

We have an auction house that is popular where I live (midwest). They sell a lot of stuff that are returns from Lowe's and I think Amazon. They also buy out places going out of business.
You can get some great deals, but the auctions can be risky as you don't know if the item works and there are no refunds (unless you go to pick up the item and it doesn't match the description). Not sure if Amazon is just selling them crates of stuff? The site is bidfta.com. Again, buyer beware!

 

[craigdt]

My head cannot wrap around that number, THIRTY PERCENT!? I'm sure it's fluffed a little, right....?

There should definitely be a cost for shipment for these people who buy something and then return without the item being defective.

Buyer's Remorse, for any reason, should be paid for by the buyer and not the shipper including restocking fees if that's what it takes.

Amazon created this issue and I think they are taking steps to mitigate it, but it may take a while to correct and other e-tailers will take the brunt of it.

But this is why online shopping is so popular.

Because it's easier and risk free.

 

[RealBeast]

Think about this the next time some newbie builder buys some crap parts and then asks in a forum post about what you think.

Tell them it's a shit riddled dumpster fire, but they have to keep it to learn a valuable lesson: ask first then buy.

 

[Uvaman2]

What about the box sector, and the timber sector?

 

[p.i.m.p]

ill LMFAO when they decide to charge the customer a restocking fee even for defective shit

 

[zkostik]

It’s a byproduct of there often being no way to try things first with online purchases. There’s often a big difference between seeing a picture of something and experiencing it first hand. Reviews can be bought and paid for and tastes vary, so sometimes even researching the product doesn’t help. Amazon and others might want to consider opening showrooms where people can try big ticket items.

I totally agree, this is basically an issue of buying online. At B&M stores (let's just exclude impulse purchases) you can at least see the product and generally get a better idea if it's what you want. This is a big problem with many products where appearance and workmanship are important. Fake products should also be taken into account. I'm actually curious if the big ticket items are getting returned much, I suspect not. It is probably things like clothing, small electronics, gadgets and the like.