Return policies are changing with some merchants

 Well, it is “prime time” for shopping right now and most of us for years, when needed, have returned items, well some retailers are rolling out stricter guidelines for returns. According to a recent survey, roughly 60% of retailers said they’re making changes to existing returns policies, with fewer promising free returns. On average, retailers expect about 18%, or $158 billion, of merchandise sold during the holiday shopping season to be returned. With rising costs squeezing margins, many retailers are rethinking their return policies, shortening the return window and even charging a return or restocking fee. During the pandemic online shopping exploded and many places offered “free returns” for customers. But now, with higher labor and shipping expenses, it is costing retailers “a tremendous amount of money. So, some retailers are charging for returns to cover a portion of that cost. It also can deter customers from overbuying, since at least 10% of returned goods cannot be resold. Just as retailers struggle with excess inventory, “often returns do not end up back on the shelf,” and that causes a problem for retailers struggling to streamline expenses and enhance sustainability. If being able to return items from online purchases or physical purchases are important to you, make sure you ask or read the fine print to see what their policy is as changes are happening.