Blog - Appriss Retail

Insights from 2021 US Retail Returns Analysis

Written by Tom Rittman, Vice President, Marketing, Appriss Retail | Mar 10, 2022 1:00:00 PM

The rapid shift toward more omnichannel transactions continued in 2021, and the value of retail returns hit $761 billion—an unimaginable figure five years ago.

Consumers returned items in a variety of ways, including drop-off sites, BORIS (buy-online-return-in-store), shipping (buy-online-return-online or “BORO”), and traditional store returns. This increase in omnichannel retail returns has left retailers racing to keep up with handling and processing.

Appriss Retail's annual Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry report dives deep into the impact of legitimate and fraudulent returns. This year's report also provides information on how COVID-19 has affected return volumes, what the biggest returns challenges retailers face right now, and their hesitancy to relinquish control of the return process to third-party vendors.

Before you read the full report, start with some of the quick facts below.