Dive Brief:
- Increased delivery minimums and the introduction of return and restocking fees are making it harder for U.S. consumers to return items, according to the third annual FedEx Returns Survey released earlier this month. Morning Consult surveyed nearly 2,000 consumers in early December on behalf of FedEx.
- Since 2024, the share of consumers who said returns are "much easier" has dropped from 20% to 18%, and those who said returns are "somewhat easier" have fallen from 31% to 27%.
- About two-thirds of consumers consider return policies when choosing retailers and say that return policies “at least sometimes” impact their purchases. Those figures rise to about three-quarters among millennials and consumers who have returned an item within the past year.
Dive Insight:
Flexible and frictionless returns matter more to a brand’s customer experience than ever before, following immense e-commerce growth over the past decade.
“As consumer expectations continue to rise, it’s critical that merchants prioritize value, speed and transparency — not just in the last mile but through the returns phase — to meet demand, build trust and win customer loyalty,” Jason Brenner, SVP of digital portfolio at FedEx, told CX Dive earlier this month.
But customer confidence in returns is a mixed bag. The percentages of consumers who felt confident about returning items to stores in person or taking them to shipping stores were 89% and 84%, respectively, according to the survey.
Confidence fell for alternative methods, such as drop-off at different locations, 71%, scheduling home pickups, 71%, and mailbox returns, 61%. Millennials showed the highest confidence across most return options.
More businesses are also charging return fees that could cost them business. Two in five of business shippers now charge return fees, up from 11 percentage points from 2024. At the same time, 3 in 5 consumers say they would avoid retailers that charge return fees.
The sustainability of returns matters to consumers, too. Just over half of consumers were concerned about packaging waste and sustainability, while over two-thirds said it's important that return shipping minimizes waste. Millennials and Gen Z expressed the most concern among all demographics.
