Holiday Returns: Are You Experiencing Return Fraud?

During the post-holiday season, retailers experience a flood of returns. According to NRF’s 2017 Holiday Planning Playbook, nearly two-thirds of consumers returned at least one item this past holiday season.  What is even more shocking is that 27% of holiday shoppers bought items specifically with the intention to return them later.

The most common type of return fraud, and is experienced by almost every retailer, is returned stolen merchandise. A few other forms of return fraud include; buying and returning clothing items after use, returning old or damaged merchandise, employee theft, and the use of fake receipts.

Being accepting of returns is vital to your company, as a survey conducted by eMarketer found that close to 80% of survey respondents stated that they would be motivated to return to a store if they had a good experience returning unwanted or broken products. However, more than 10% of holiday returns are fraudulent. Retailers are losing thousands of dollars to fraud-savvy consumers.

Don’t get caught unprepared. Start planning and setting up a returns management solution with a professional reverse supply chain partner before the post-holiday returns begin pouring into your warehouse. Consumers returning items is becoming an epidemic for several retailers as they cut deep in their profit margins. Companies are not only seeing a high return rate of their own merchandise but also of fraudulent goods pouring in as well.

While it’s not ideal to end up with fraudulently-returned merchandise, resourceful retailers can turn these returns into opportunity by maximizing recovery for them in the secondary market. A professional reverse supply chain partner will leverage a vast buyer base and expert e-marketing strategies to sell your returned goods in all product categories and conditions.

Liquidity Services works with clients to ensure returned inventory is intelligently transformed from a burden into a liquid opportunity that fuels the achievement of your strategic goals. Our superior service, unmatched scale, and ability to deliver results enable us to forge trusted, long-term relationships.