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Seeking to reduce the high cost of returns, retailers are not only increasingly charging shipping fees for online returns but also shortening the time customers have to bring back the merchandise.
Among major retailers, Amazon in 2022 allowed purchases made on Oct. 11 through Christmas to be returned by the end of January. This year, the online retailer will only take back items bought on or after Nov. 1. Under the change, purchases made during Amazon’s Big Deal Days event from Oct. 10 to 11 can no longer be returned.
Amazon told the Wall Street Journal that it is returning to its pre-pandemic holiday-returns policy. Outside of the holiday period, Amazon allows returns within 30 days of a customer receiving their order.
Staples’ shoppers in the 2022 holiday season had until Jan. 23 to return goods bought after Nov. 12. This year, shoppers have until Jan. 14 to return items purchased Nov. 13 or later.
Around certain categories, Macy's return window this holiday season for toys shrunk to 30 days from 90 days in 2022. Additionally, Walmart’s return window for major appliances has been cut to within two days.
According to the 2023 Holiday Predictions report by goTRG, 41.8% of retailers reported planning to shorten their holiday returns windows versus only 16.8% planning to extend their returns windows.
“Most stores continue to offer extended holiday return periods whereby gifts purchased as early as October first, such as in Walmart’s case, can be returned until mid- to late-January, considerably beyond the normal deadline, but they’re not as generous as they used to be,” Edgar Dworsky, founder of consumer-advocate website ConsumerWorld.org, told Checkbook.
The shorter return windows are part of retail’s recent efforts to reduce the high costs of returns due in large part to e-commerce growth. According to retail services firm Inmar Intelligence, retailers spend $27 to process a return for a $100 item that was purchased online. The faster an item is returned, the better chance retailers have to offer it to other customers to avoid a steeper markdown.
Retailers have also been ending free online returns to reduce the cost of returned merchandise. About 40% of retailers are now charging to ship an online return, up from 31% last year, according to Narvar.
Return windows vary across retailers.
Under Best Buy’s extended holiday return policy, any purchases made from Oct. 27 through Dec. 30 have to be returned by Jan. 13. Its standard return time frame is within 15 days. At Walmart and Macy’s, most purchases made from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 are returnable until Jan. 31. Marshalls and T.J.Maxx accept holiday returns until Jan. 25. Target, Costco, and Home Depot have 90-day return windows for most items.
Among those with the most generous policies, Kohl’s allows most items to be returned within 180 days of purchase. Eddie Bauer, IKEA, L.L.Bean, and Zappos accept returns within a year. Nordstrom’s full-line stores, American Eagle, and Patagonia have no time limit for returns.