Over half of consumers no longer willing to pay for online returns

Dean Blake

22nd Jan 2019

Australian consumers are increasingly of the belief that returns are an inevitable part of online shopping, to the point that more than half are no longer willing to pay for it themselves.

New research by parcel delivery service CouriersPlease found that 53 per cent of survey respondents would not spend a cent returning an item they purchase online, while a third (33 per cent) would be willing to spend a maximum of $10 doing so.

“The high return rate in the online shopping sector is here to stay. As consumers lose the touch-and-feel aspect when buying online, they can erroneously purchase the wrong size or colour, their expectations for texture or quality might not be met, or they might simply change their mind altogether once the product is in their hands,” CouriersPlease head of commercial and transformation Jessica Ip said.

When asked how they prefer to return items, 37 per cent of survey respondents noted a preference toward return items in-store, with millennials preferring this option over 50-something shoppers, while 29 per cent would rather send items back via courier. 27 per cent like returning items through a post office or parcel drop off point.