retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...

, a product return is the

process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management *Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...

of a customer taking previously purchased merchandise back to the

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...

, and in turn receiving a refund in the original form of

payment A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods, or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation. The party making the ...

, exchange for another item (identical or different), or a store credit.

Overview

Many retailers will accept returns provided that the customer has a

receipt A receipt (also known as a packing list, packing slip, packaging slip, (delivery) docket, shipping list, delivery list, bill of the parcel, manifest, or customer receipt) is a document acknowledging that a person has received money or propert ...

as a

proof of purchase Proof of purchase is often required for sales promotions and manufacturer rebates as evidence that the customer purchased the product. When multiple purchases are required to redeem these rewards, it is referred to as a premium incentive or colle ...

, and that certain other conditions, which depend on the retailer's policies, are met. These may include the merchandise being in a certain condition (usually resellable if not defective), no more than a certain amount of time having passed since the purchase, and sometimes that identification be provided (though usually only if a receipt is not provided). In some cases, only exchanges or store credit are offered, again usually only without a receipt, or after an initial refund period has passed.Associated Press,
Retailers cracking down on return fraud: Avoid problems returning unwanted gifts during holiday season
" ''MSNBC'' (Dec . 6, 2006). Some retailers charge a restocking

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in cont ...

for non-defective returned merchandise, but typically only if the packaging has been opened. While retailers are not usually required to accept returns, laws in many places require retailers to post their return

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

in a place where it would be visible to the customer prior to purchase. In certain countries, such as Australia,

consumer rights Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

dictate that under certain situations consumers have a right to demand a refund. These situations include sales that relied on false or misleading claims, defective

goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not t ...

, and undisclosed conditions of sale. There are various reasons why customers may wish to return merchandise. These include a change of one's mind (

buyer's remorse Buyer's remorse is the sense of regret after having made a purchase. It is frequently associated with the purchase of an expensive item such as a vehicle or real estate. Buyer's remorse is thought to stem from cognitive dissonance, specifically ...

quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory * Energy quality, used in various science discipl ...

of the merchandise, personal dissatisfaction, or a mistaken purchase of the wrong product. For

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

or other

size Size in general is the magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to linear dimensions ( length, width, height, diameter, perimeter), area, or volume. Size can also be m ...

d items, it may be a lack of a correct fit. Sometimes, there may be a

product recall A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects that might endanger the consumer or put the maker/seller at risk of legal action. The recall is an effort to limit rui ...

in which the

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

has requested (or been ordered) that the merchandise be brought back to the store. Also,

gift receipt A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...

s are offered sometimes when an item is purchased for another person, and the recipient can exchange this item for another item of comparable value, or for store credit, often on a

gift card A gift card also known as gift certificate in North America, or gift voucher or gift token in the UK is a prepaid stored-value money card, usually issued by a retailer or bank, to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a parti ...

Economic impact

In the US, an estimated 8–10% of in-store sales is returned whereas online sales may result in 25–40% returns. In Asia and Europe, less than 5 percent of purchases are returned. US shoppers returned $396 billion worth of purchases in 2018 – brick-and-mortar and online, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). To fight high return rates in

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managem ...

, a realistic product visualization is needed. Next to imagery and video content, 3D technology like augmented reality and

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

, but also simply 3D in the browser can enhance the shopping experience and lower return rates. In the UK, Logistics costs for returns is estimated at between £20bn and £60bn per year. Figures show that 33% of retailers had to increase prices to counter rising returns volumes whilst 31% of retailers said managing returns impacts their profits. For some companies the costs of accepting returns amounts to as much as 5% of their annual turnover.

Issues

Fraudulent returns

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, various abuses using the return process allegedly cost retailers more than $9 billion annually.Michelle Singletary,
Return Fraud Earns Retailers' Wrath
" ''The Washington Post'' (December 10, 2006): F01. One common practice is the use of the system in order to "borrow" the merchandise at no charge. The customer who engages in this practice purchases the item for temporary use, then returns it when finished. Examples include an article of clothing worn for a single occasion, or a book that is returned after it has been read. This practice is called "wardrobing." Stores such as

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

and Ross put large "do not remove" tags on women's

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that co ...

es to try to defeat this, not accepting returns or exchanges for any items that do not have the tag. Many stores also refuse to refund certain items like

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

materials,

inflatable An inflatable is an object that can be inflated with a gas, usually with air, but hydrogen, helium and nitrogen are also used. One of several advantages of an inflatable is that it can be stored in a small space when not inflated, since inflata ...

airbeds (Target and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

), and even

portable Portable may refer to: General * Portable building, a manufactured structure that is built off site and moved in upon completion of site and utility work * Portable classroom, a temporary building installed on the grounds of a school to provide ...

heater Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...

s ( Dollar General). Another problem is when customers legitimately purchase an item, then re-enter the store with the receipt, take an identical item off the shelf, and approach the

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

desk requesting a refund. In the process, they essentially receive the item for free, and may be charged with

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

or another similar crime if caught. Others have been reported to print fake receipts which they use to return

stolen Stolen may refer to: * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...

merchandise for a cash refund. However, this is nearly impossible now that most stores use individually numbered receipts. Scanning the receipt's

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...

at the

cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a drawer for storing cash and other ...

links legitimate returns to a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...

that validates the original purchase. (Despite this, some stores that have had such systems for years still refuse to accept a

photocopy A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers ...

of a legitimate receipt where the original may have been misplaced, or obscured due to the store's use of cheap

thermal paper A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

or very light

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...

Denying returns

Some retailers have turned to a practice in which customers who return or exchange items excessively (beyond the guidelines set by a retailer) may be prevented from making a return or exchange with that particular company. An agency called The Retail Equation (formerly The Return Exchange) collects data from participating retailers via a swipe of a

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

, or most other types of government issued photo identification. The information found on the license is collected into a

, and other stores operated by that particular retail company can use this information to deny a return. This system can be used to prevent various problems, such as return fraud. These controversial practices of collecting information have been addressed by privacy rights advocates and spurred a movement for boycotting chains that collect consumers' private information and allow third party sources to use it. The request of presenting a form of identification for returning products and collecting the information has stirred controversy, especially if the customer that purchased the product was a minor (under the age of 18). Immigrant rights groups have voiced serious concern over the practice since most illegal immigrants don't have a state ID or a drivers license and this practice could potentially be used to discriminate against them, however, all of the stores that are associated with The Retail Equation, accepts all types of government issued photo identification, including, but not limited to, driver's licences (regardless of issuing state), state I.D.'s (regardless of issuing state), passports (regardless of issuing country), Mexican consular I.D.'s (i.e. MCAS), concealed carry firearm permit's (regardless of issuing state), and USA military I.D.'s.

Legislation

Legislation exists in various parts of the world giving consumers the right to return goods in as-supplied condition for a full refund, within a set period of time, known as a cooling-off period. Sometimes this legislation only applies to distance sales such as

References

External links

The Retail Equation homepage
describes details about the agency and returning {{Authority control Supply chain management