Return fees are unpopular with consumers — what are the alternatives?

With the holiday season rapidly approaching and the headache of the East Coast port strike averted for now, brands are thinking about their next biggest holiday obstacle: returns.

Every year, returns grow in frequency. Last year, more than $620 billion worth of products was returned. Studies have found that each returned product costs brands an average of $10-$20. For lower-priced items or items with thin margins, that can quickly make a product into a net negative on a brand’s line sheet.

In the last year, brands have increasingly started to use the strategy of charging customers for returns. The latest is Asos, which, last week, implemented a return charge fee of a little more than $5 for customers who regularly return items and keep less than $50 worth of goods.

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