The news: Worldpay launched a service in the UK that provides shoppers near instant refunds, per a press release.

• The service will be available at participating online retailers when the shopper pays with a Mastercard or Visa card.
• Worldpay will roll out the service across Europe and will expand it to include point-of-sale transactions in 2025.

Why it matters: Returns have become all too commonplace. Next year, 20.2% of all US retail ecommerce sales will be returned, per our forecasts, a share that is likely similar in the UK.

But lengthy return processes can be a major pain point. About 40% of consumers expect a refund to hit their account within 24 hours when making a return, per Worldpay, but they often take multiple days.

Our take: Given how frequent ecommerce returns are, getting them right is crucial for retailers to maintain a good relationship with their customers. 84% of consumers are willing to ditch a retailer following a poor returns experience, per Narvar.

Worldpay's solution should therefore be popular among merchants, helping them protect their customer relationships and attract repeat shoppers.

This article is part of EMARKETER’s client-only subscription Briefings—daily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends. To help you finish 2024 strong, and start 2025 off on the right foot, articles like this one—delivering the latest news and insights—are completely free through January 31, 2025. If you want to learn how to get insights like these delivered to your inbox every day, and get access to our data-driven forecasts, reports, and industry benchmarks, schedule a demo with our sales team.