Retailers also report being victimized by returns of merchandise originally purchased with fraudulent or stolen tender (83.1%) and returns using counterfeit receipts (51.0%).
The unethical practice of “wardrobing,” the return of non-defective, used merchandise, is also escalating in the industry. Nearly two-thirds of retailers (66.1%) have been victims of wardrobers in the past year – up from 56.0 percent of retailers last year.
According to the survey consumers will not see a drastic shift in holiday return policies this year with four in five retailers (81.4%) implementing the same holiday return policy as last year, while 15.3 percent will tighten their policies (vs. 25.0% in 2006) and 3.4 percent will loosen policies (vs. 4.8% last year).
National Retail Federation
marketing@alchempro.com
