More companies slap on return fees

Now that Christmas presents are unwrapped, many Americans are looking to return those gifts. 

And in some cases, those returns might cost you. According to a National Retail Federation survey, 72% of retailers have started charging for certain returns this year. That’s up from 66% 2024.

With online shopping, we’ve gotten pretty used to the idea that you can return stuff for free. And because of that, a lot of shoppers do this thing called bracketing, said Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumer World.

“They will get, let's say, pants, three different sizes and colors of pants, not knowing which one they're going to want to keep,” he said.

They’ll keep one and return the other two. Nice for the customer, but for the retailer, those returns add up.

“The postage costs a lot of money. The processing of those returns cost money. So you begin to see some companies saying, ‘enough,’” Dworsky said. And they’re slapping a fee on returns, he said — especially returns by mail.

The risk for companies is that customers don’t like being charged fees, said David Sobie, CEO of the logistics company Happy Returns.

“It may turn turn shoppers off altogether, and have them say, ‘Gosh, you know, I'm just not willing to buy from this merchant anymore,’” he said.

One way around this is returning things to a physical store, rather than through the mail. 

That’s usually free, Sobie said. It’s also cheaper for the retailer, and shoppers might be tempted to buy something else while they’re in the store.