Stop Shopping Around—Master Your In-Store Returns With Blue Yonder
We’ve all experienced the real-world drawbacks of in-store product returns. With return rates doubling since 2019—and returned merchandise totaling $890 billion in 2024—we’ve all waited impatiently behind someone who’s making a lot of returns at the retail store. The only two people more stressed than…
Integrate Returns Into Your Supply Chain to Minimize Costs, Maximize Resales
No one in the retail industry questions the strategic and financial value of forward logistics. Retailers have rightly invested billions of dollars in creating optimized transportation and distribution networks dedicated to getting products to the right place, at the right time. But reverse logistics—managing the…
Don’t Look Now, but Your Returned Products Are Aging
Everyone knows returns are a huge problem for retailers. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), $890 billion in merchandise was returned in 2024 alone. Even more sobering, research shows that only 47% of returned items are resold at full price. Of the remaining number,…
As Returns Grow, Retailers Must Work Smarter, Not Harder, to Re-Sell Products
We’ve all seen the headlines and statistics on product returns. Last year consumers returned $890 billion in merchandise. Since only 47% of returned items are resold at full price, today’s return volumes represent a staggering financial loss for retailers. For a $5 billion retailer with…
Three Strategies for Optimizing Your Results in “Returnuary”
January marks the start of a brand new year. That means consumers everywhere are making resolutions, joining gyms, journaling, cutting back on alcohol and calories, and engaging in other self-improvement activities. Unfortunately for the world’s retailers, consumers are also returning products. A lot of products….
Making Retail Returns Greener Is Always in Fashion
Sustainability is an increasing concern for every retail business, and for a good reason. Food, apparel, textiles, packaging materials and other consumer products not only cause environmental impacts as they’re produced and transported, but they often end up in landfills. With their trendy offerings and…
Fashion Returns Fraud Is Growing — But Digitalization Helps Retailers Fight Back
Product returns are an expensive, and growing, problem for fashion retailers. According to a report by Appriss Retail and the National Retail Federation (NRF), total returns for the retail industry amounted to $743 billion in merchandise in 2023, creating huge reverse logistics costs. For fashion…
Keep or Return? Fashion Influencers Have Created a Costly Trend for Retailers
It’s no secret that product returns are one of the biggest challenges facing the world’s retailers — especially retailers of fashion apparel. Clothing trends and product seasons come and go with increasing speed today. That means fashion retailers must get returned products back in stores,…
5 Steps for Retailers to Optimize Marketplace Returns and Protect Their Brand
In our last marketplaces post, we covered why many retailers are establishing marketplaces for third-party sellers to offer their products through. The opportunities for growth are undeniable, but there are challenges to overcome to maximize the marketplace approach. Foremost among them is the question of…
Why Retailer-Owned Marketplaces are Taking Over – and What to Watch Out For
The number of retailer-owned third-party marketplaces, in which retailers list products from other sellers within their platform or website, has risen over the past few years. Many big-name retailers now have their own marketplace platforms, including Tesco, Boots, Superdrug, B&Q, and The Range in the…