The results of a new survey found that most people – around 77 percent – plan on returning some of their gifts this holiday season, according to reports.
About 20 percent of those surveyed said they would probably return upwards of 50 percent of their presents. Of those returning gifts, 32 percent said they would use the mail, while 65 percent said they would return in-store.
“Retailers need to seize the moment when shoppers return gifts. The traffic generated by holiday returns holds significant opportunity for retailers to build better customer profiles and generate new opportunities for engagement by personalizing the returns experience,” said Jeff Warren, vice president of retail solutions management, Oracle Retail. “Preparing for returns is a best practice; leveraging returns intelligence to inform product development and new customer acquisition strategies is next-practice retail.”
The youngest generation, Gen Z, will return the most presents. In-store returns present a unique opportunity for retailers to either upsell or capture another sale while a consumer is in the store, aided by savvy store employees and retail technology.
Data shows that 75 people of people still prefer to shop at brick-and-mortar stores, a fact that has incentivized stores to keep inventory on hand and to maintain stock of certain “must-have” seasonal items.
The survey showed that Generation X encompassed the most prominent online shoppers, with 57 percent of them having goods shipped to their homes. Baby Boomers were the second most likely to shop online and have goods shipped home, at 56 percent. Both of those demographics surprisingly beat out millennials, at 53 percent, and Gen Z, at 46 percent. The latter two categories showed they would rather order online and pick up the goods at the store, while only 14 percent of Baby Boomers said they wanted to shop this way.
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