Retailers need more warehouse space to hold returned goods

The surge in online shopping driven largely by the novel coronavirus pandemic has led to opportunities and challenges for retailers. On the negative side is the greater percentage of product returns that many, if not most, companies are not fully prepared to handle. A new report by CBRE says that $70.5 billion worth of goods will be returned for the holidays, creating greater demand for warehouse space to process and store the merchandise. The real estate firm has forecast that as much as 400 million square feet of additional warehouse space will need to be added over the next five years just for handling returns.