UPS Expects To Deliver 1.3 Mln Returns Packages To Retailers In Single Day

(RTTNews) - This year's record ecommerce sales are driving another record that will help usher in the New Year. National Returns Day, when the most UPS returns packages are sent back to retailers, will reach a new peak on Thursday, January 5, according to UPS (UPS).

Holiday shoppers are projected to return 1.3 million packages with UPS on National Returns Day and more than 5.8 million packages during the first full week of January 2017. In 2016, shoppers returned more than 1 million packages on National Returns Day and 5 million packages during the peak returns week.

According to the UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper study, online shoppers are seeing the improvements that retailers have made to returns programs over the last five years. Between 2012 and 2016, consumers consistently reported fewer issues paying for returns shipping (decreasing from 66% to 50%), paying restocking fees (decreasing from 43% to 27%), and experiencing a delay in receiving credits or refunds (decreasing from 41% to 27%).

The returns process begins with including the necessary returns paperwork or instructions for the customer to effortlessly complete the transaction. Online shoppers report the best returns experience includes free returns shipping (60%), a hassle-free returns policy (51%), easy-to-print return labels (44%), timely refunds (42%), and a return label in the box (40%).