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Rush to return holiday gifts begins
Now that the holiday season has come to a close, it’s time to make returns on unwanted gifts. As reported by CBS News, the National Retail Federation predicts that nearly $900 billion in goods will be returned starting from December 27th onwards.
As Latonya Rascoe, a FedEx office employee in Anchorage, Alaska, put it, “We even work Christmas Day here at the front counter, taking your returns.” This highlights the magnitude of the holiday return rush. The NRF expects about 17% of sales to be returned this year, which will peak between now and January 2.
It’s crucial to understand that e-commerce purchases are the most likely to be sent back, which could lead to a longer shipping season. “They’re returns on everything they don’t like, everything they don’t want, everything that was too small, too big, we return,” Rascoe emphasized.
FedEx alone sort up to 80,000 packages per day during this period, with their holiday rush spanning from the beginning of Thanksgiving until three weeks after Christmas. To keep track of these massive numbers, FedEx relies on its nearly three dozen cargo planes that carry over 20,000 packages each. These planes can travel to various destinations, including Oakland, Indianapolis, and Memphis, or even Asia and the Pacific.
In preparation for this overwhelming season of returns, experts advise doing your homework before sending back unwanted gifts. This is crucial since return policies vary greatly from one retailer to another. According to Kimberly Palmer of Nerdwallet, some retailers may even charge funds to ship goods back.
To ensure a smooth process, Palmer recommends that customers “keep those in their original packaging” and have receipts ready. It’s also vital not to wait too long, as many people often miss the deadline for returns.
As the holiday season comes to a close, this is essential information for anyone who received an unwelcome gift during the holidays.
Source: www.cbsnews.com
