Executive Summary

Deal-seeking by consumers, heavy discounting by retailers, and an extended holiday shopping period that starts in early October all contributed to an uptick in holiday returns in 2022. Similar conditions are expected in 2023, so retailers need to plan carefully to limit the impact of returns.

Key Question: What factors drove the increase in retail returns during the 2022 holiday season, and what’s the outlook for 2023?

KEY STAT: At least 10% of orders were returned each week from November 2022 to mid-January 2023, per Salesforce data, as US shoppers returned more—and earlier—than in the previous holiday season.