Hitting "Buy Now" is just the beginning. What percent of purchases end up back at the retailer?

Answer:

16.9% of purchases at an estimated cost of $890 billion dollars 

Questions: 

• What items do you think are most likely to be returned? Least likely?
• Have you ever made a purchase that you planned to return?
• What are the potential costs and secondary impacts of returns?
• If you wanted to minimize your returns when shopping, what steps could you take?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (NRF):

"On average, retailers estimate that 16.9% of their annual sales in 2024 will be returned, in line with 16.5% in 2022 and 16.6% in 2021 but well above the 8.1% reported in 2019. And total returns for the retail industry are expected to reach $890 billion in 2024. Return rates can be even higher for online channels. A separate NRF study conducted in October 2024 found that, on average, retailers’ online return rates were 21% higher than their overall return rates." 

About the Author

Dave Martin

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.