Black Friday online returns cost fashion retailers 1.6 billion pounds

The impact of Black Friday returns on UK retail has been revealed, and it’s not pretty. This year’s online returns is predicted to cost fashion retailers 1.6 billion pounds, according to returns management platform ReBound Returns.

The overall UK retail sector is set to suffer return prices totalling 2.4 billion pounds due to to a spike in returns activity between Black Friday and Christmas Day, with the 3 December - aptly named ‘Make Up Your Mind Monday’ - revealed as the most returns-heavy day of the year, seeing a 143 percent returns spike. This spike is set to continue well into the new year, with 85 percent more returns predicted in January compared to the average month of the year.

According to ReBound Returns, decreased resale value, along with the costs of cleaning, retagging and reselling stock in January sales is particularly particularly affects UK fashion retailers.

Black Friday returns have ‘severe consequences’ for UK retailers

The impact of returns from Black Friday Weekend alone is set to be as high as 250 million pounds.

Commenting on the results in a statement, Graham Best, CEO of ReBound Returns, said: “The sheer volume of sales over peak results in an enormous number of returns. It’s no coincidence that Make Up Your Mind Monday falls just a week after Black Friday, but this spike in returns continues throughout December.

“At such a busy time, many retailers only turn their attention to processing returns in January, and this has severe consequences for their margins. Ultimately this problem comes down to tracking, as retailers often aren’t aware of the value of stock being returned to them until they begin opening packages in a warehouse.”

Retail’s data was gathered from 40 UK retailers.

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