Shoppers More Likely To Return Items Bought Online Than in Store (axios.com)

From a report: Almost a third of all online orders are returned compared to only 9% of purchases made in a brick-and-mortar store, according to Bloomberg. This is largely due to free shipping offered by most companies, which has also caused an increase of online purchases by almost three times those of physical stores. Why it matters: Returns can be costly for online companies -- anywhere from 20-65% of the cost of goods sold a UPS study found.

Comments

33%, is that right?

[jandrese]

I rarely return anything, pretty much only if it arrives broken. It seems shocking to me that a full third of all purchases get returned online. Even that 9% for in-store seems crazy high. Are there people who just buy stuff and return it all day long?

There are several reasons for this...

[MindPrison]

...I got some experience on the subject, I'm in my 50's and have shopped online for over 14+ years, and 35+ years in stores, especially electronics stores.

The thing about shopping in a store is that you get an hands-on experience of everything you want to purchase, you get to test it - right there and then, if you don't like it - it's more of a "meh..." experience, and you walk away, no harm done. But if you get that "woah" experience, you'll most likely make a purchase right there and then, or come back later for a purchase. The thing is - you get a realtime experience with the goods in question instead of some video representation of it, and you get a real life feel for how the product actually work.

Some of you, might ask - well, why don't you go to a physical store and test the product, and later - go get it cheaper on the internet?

Well, there's a reason we don't really do that, many actually. Some of mine are that I can easily return a product I tested in store if it doesn't live up to my "store" experiences, without too much problems. If I do this online, I can do this...but it's a lot of hassle...I have to carry the product back to the postal offices, if it's pickup-based, I usually have to cover the cost if the company doesn't agree with my view on the subject... (at least in Sweden).

And when I bought it in a store - I get a lot of support, the seller will recognize me and immediately give me support when I have questions or need help, whereas when I do that online, it's more of a hassle to get a RMA and finally get to ship it off, just to have it returned to me with 100+ scratches from all the handling + loads of more risks involving shipping damage, where the company in question is not to blame....but the postal services...which I've had the worst luck with...blaming everything on bad packaging etc.

Classy online companies, won't have this issue...usually clothes related companies, as they will pretty much accept any returns, without complaints...but try that with small online companies dealing with IT-Tech and small margins...you're in for the battle of your life..

Not worth it.

Shop locally!