Are retailers ready for peak returns season?

E-commerce has surged at the end of the year, which could mean that more people than ever will bring back their purchases.

Despite tight budgets and wariness about the economy, U.S. consumers have come through for retailers in 2023, and that has continued into the all-important fourth quarter. Even with some holiday promotions moving into October, Black Friday and Cyber Monday helped push November retail sales up nearly 6% compared to last year.

But much of that will inevitably be undone. With retail sales come returns, and that’s always been especially true at the holidays. Last year, the National Retail Federation pegged retail’s return rate at 16.5%, or about $816 billion worth of merchandise, while at the holidays it was projected at close to 18% or nearly $171 billion.

itim Group plc (LON:ITIM) is a SaaS-based technology company that enables store-based retailers to optimise their businesses to improve financial performance and effectively compete with online competitors. Itim adds retail value by helping multi-channel retailers optimise their business and their stores to improve financial performance and compete more effectively with the “Amazons”.

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