Online Search Volume for Return Policies in UK Leaps 247%

British consumers are searching for information about return policies as more retailers begin charging fees.

The number of online searches for “do I need to pay for returns” in the United Kingdom has increased by 247%, according to Paymentsense.

“Customers are also reporting that they are less likely to shop with brands that charge for returns,” the card payment solution provider said in a blog post.

PYMNTS research has found that 96% of U.S. shoppers review return policies before making a purchase, and 54% indicate that they were unlikely to purchase from a retailer that did not provide free returns.

Furthermore, shoppers who use these easy return options are 52% more satisfied than those who do not, according to the “2023 Global Digital Shopping Index,” a PYMNTS and Cybersource collaboration.

Paymentsense attributes the soaring number of searches for information in the U.K. to consumers’ confusion around returns policies as a growing number of merchants begin charging for returns.

“One of the biggest changes now compared to last year is that retailers have started to charge customers for returns,” Paymentsense said in the post.

Over the past year, some bigger brands like Boohoo, Zara, Next, Sports Direct, JD Sports, Missguided, H&M and Oh Polly have stopped offering free returns, according to the post.

They have done so because of the higher costs of transportation, energy and labor, the post said.

At the same time, the average amount being returned per person decreased by 15% in 2022. The post attributes this drop to the rising cost of living that has led consumers to spend more carefully.

Still, returns cost U.K. retailers 60 billion pounds (about $74 billion) a year on average, with one-third of those returns coming from online shopping, according to the post.

Some of the factors driving returns are online shopping, which means customers can’t see the products they are buying; “wardrobing,” in which customers buy clothes only to wear them once and then return them; and the rising use of buy now, pay later (BNPL), which enables customers to buy product without having money immediately leave their account.

“The serial refunder behaviour becoming more prevalent over the past few years coupled with the cost of living crisis has given retailers no choice but to start charging for returns,” Paymentsense said in the post.

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