According to a 2024 survey, ** percent of e-commerce and finance professionals in the United States started to charge for returns because of the increase in the operational cost of processing them. Increases in carrier shipping costs (** percent) and the increased tolerance of shoppers to pay for return fees (** percent) were other popular motivators to start charging for returns.
*Respondents were e-commerce and finance professionals from U.S. retail companies with at least 500 million U.S. dollars in revenue that started charging for returns. The exact number of respondents for this question was not specified by the source, but calculated by Statista based on the reports' data.
This question was phrased by the source as follows: "Why did you start charging for those return methods?"
The source does not specify the age of respondents.
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National Retail Federation. (December 5, 2024). Online retailers' reasons for starting to charge for returns in the United States in 2024 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved July 13, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1615326/reasons-for-charging-for-online-retail-returns-united-states/
National Retail Federation. "Online retailers' reasons for starting to charge for returns in the United States in 2024." Chart. December 5, 2024. Statista. Accessed July 13, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1615326/reasons-for-charging-for-online-retail-returns-united-states/
National Retail Federation. (2024). Online retailers' reasons for starting to charge for returns in the United States in 2024. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: July 13, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1615326/reasons-for-charging-for-online-retail-returns-united-states/
National Retail Federation. "Online Retailers' Reasons for Starting to Charge for Returns in The United States in 2024." Statista, Statista Inc., 5 Dec 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1615326/reasons-for-charging-for-online-retail-returns-united-states/
National Retail Federation, Online retailers' reasons for starting to charge for returns in the United States in 2024 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1615326/reasons-for-charging-for-online-retail-returns-united-states/ (last visited July 13, 2025)
Online retailers' reasons for starting to charge for returns in the United States in 2024 [Graph], National Retail Federation, December 5, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1615326/reasons-for-charging-for-online-retail-returns-united-states/
