Should Retailers Embrace ‘Keep It’ Return Policies?

According to the “Returns Report: 2023 Holiday Predictions” report from returns services firm goTRG, 59% of surveyed retailers are offering "keep it" policies for returns that aren’t financially viable to ship back this holiday season, up from 26% a year ago.

The survey of over 500 U.S.-based retailers found that the tactic is especially common for low-cost items as the expenses of shipping and processing often surpass their worth. Of the retailers surveyed, 27% deem items priced up to $20 as suitable for "keep it" — also called “returnless” — policies.

GoTRG added in the study, “This strategy not only curtails logistical expenses but also bolsters customer loyalty and trust.”

The increased use of “keep it” policies comes as retailers have been increasingly charging fees for returns, incentivizing in-store returns, and taking other steps to reduce the escalating costs tied to online returns.

The "keep it" practice gained attention in 2017 when Amazon.com introduced “returnless refunds” as an option for marketplace sellers. At the time, Amazon said the feature was “highly requested” by sellers wanting to avoid the time and cost of managing returns shipping and processing for items that would be hard to resell. Processing returns can often range between 20% and 65% of the cost of goods sold, according to UPS.

A survey from returns technology provider Narvar found that 75% of customers have been offered a “keep the item” return at least once in their shopping lifetime, and “most frequently cite Amazon, Walmart, Target, Wayfair, Chewy, Kohl’s, and SHEIN as common benefactors.”

Of the respondents, 90% who received the perk had previously shopped with that retailer and appreciated the trust expressed through the policy, while 65% appreciated that retailers are saving their time and effort by letting them keep the return. On the flip side, 53% expressed concerns that unethical customers will abuse the “keep it” policy and drive up prices for everyone, while only 50% liked that retailers were saving costs and reducing their environmental impact through the policy.