UPS forecasts 1.4m package returns on National Returns Day

The parcel giant expects to deliver 750 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, a nearly 40 million increase from the same period in 2016.

   National Returns Day, the date when UPS says it ships the most holiday season gifts back from recipients to retailers, is expected to peak at 1.4 million packages on Jan. 3, the Atlanta-based package delivery company said Dec. 27.
   “In December 2017, consumers shipped more than one million returns packages to retailers daily, a pace expected to last into early January 2018,” the company explained in a statement. “On UPS National Returns Day, predicted to be Jan. 3, the count is expected to peak at 1.4 million packages, up 8 percent from a year ago and marking a fifth-consecutive yearly record.”
   Record breaking Black Friday and Cyber Week e-commerce sales jumpstarted this year’s holiday returns season, according to UPS, with a larger flood of packages going back to retailers, even as many presents sat under the Christmas tree. The returns delivered so far in 2017 are part of the 750 million packages UPS says it’s projected to deliver between Thanksgiving and New Year Eve, a nearly 40 million increase from the same period in 2016.
   According to the 2017 UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper study, 75 percent of consumers have shipped returns back to retailers this year, an increase of seven points from 2016.
   The study also found that 79 percent of those surveyed said free shipping on returns is important when selecting an online retailer; and 44 percent said the top issue encountered when returning an item online is paying for return shipping. Top factors, respondents said, also include an easy-to-return online experience and a no-questions-asked policy.
   “While the day after Christmas used to be reserved for long return lines at department stores, the growth of e-commerce has changed when and how consumers return gifts,” UPS Chief Commercial Officer Alan Gershenhorn said. “A customer-friendly returns program is now an essential part of any successful e-commerce program.
   “A simple and speedy experience should be part of the retailer’s toolkit to help increase customer loyalty while managing the cost of processing these returns,” added Gershenhorn.”