UPS ramps up for ‘National Returns Day’

Dubbed “National Returns Day,” Jan. 6 marks the date that American consumers are expected to make the most returned product shipments after the holiday season.    Dubbed “National Returns Day,” Jan. 6 marks the date that American consumers are expected to make the most returned product shipments after the holiday season.
   It’s estimated that more than a million packages will be returned to retailers that day.
   UPS said that week of Jan. 4-10 it expects to handle more than 5 million returns packages, or 500,000 more than the same period last year.
   “As online shopping volumes grow globally, so do returns volumes,” Teresa Finley, UPS senior vice president of global marketing, said in a statement. “Online shoppers tell us they want free, fast and easy returns. We help our customers provide flexible options that create revenue and attract potential buyers.”
   According to the express carrier, the option to return purchases plays an important role in consumer decision-making today.
   UPS noted that 67 percent of consumers said they look at a retailer’s return policy before they complete an order. In addition, 66 percent want free returns shipping and 47 percent want an easy-to-print return label.
   Furthermore, UPS’s research found that only 32 percent of retailers offered free returns and less than half spelled out a merchandise exchange timeline on their website, which is “a key component of the return policy that is viewed by 88 percent of online shoppers.”
   “Some retailers provide return labels within outbound shipments, while others have technology that allows them to offer a consumer credit or refund as soon as the item is scanned into the UPS network,” UPS said.