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Retailers brace for flood of returns from online shopping

Posted at 2:51 PM, Dec 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-24 14:51:29-05

NEW YORK (AP) — A huge surge in online shopping during the pandemic has been a savior for retailers, but it comes at a price.

Shoppers are expected to return twice as many items as they did during last year’s holiday period, costing companies roughly $1.1 billion. That's according to Narvar Inc., a software and technology company that manages online returns for hundreds of brands.

Retailers don’t want the returns, but they do want shoppers who may not feel safe going to stores to be comfortable buying things they haven’t seen or tried on in person.