UK post-Christmas returns higher this year

As British consumers returned to work last week after the festive break so did 1.51 billion pounds worth of unwanted items back to retailers, according to home delivery specialist Parcelhero.

New data from Parcelhero reveals that post-Christmas returns on January 2 soared by 6.8 percent, compared to the same day last year, while Royal Mail reported that returns on the same day were up around 52 percent on a typical day from the previous month.

David Jinks, head of consumer research at Parcelhero, said in a statement: “We’ve looked at our own returns volumes and spoken to people in the courier and retail industries and it looks like there was a notable peak in returns yesterday compared to the small but distinct drop in the volume and value of returns last year. We’re estimating around 1.51 billion pounds of clothing, electrical goods and toys are now on their way back to retailers.

“There are conflicting figures as to how successful this Christmas was for retailers. It seems the anticipated last-minute boom in high street footfall failed to materialise but online sales figures for Black Friday and beyond are expected to be robust. Certainly, if the number of returns in the parcels system at the moment reflects the amount we bought, people were splashing the cash before Christmas. That said, it’s possible we were all just really bad at choosing gifts this year.”