Royal Mail has predicted that today – the first Monday in the New Year – will be the busiest day for online returns by mail in the UK as shoppers are rushing to send back unwanted Christmas gifts and online purchases.
According to Royal Mail’s forecast, the number of online returns will surge over 50% on 4 January alone, compared to the average number of daily returns in December.
The postal operator based its prediction on the number of return parcels handled by Royal Mail through its Tracked Returns service, which is used by more than 500 e-retailers for the return of unwanted online purchases.
Since Christmas, Royal Mail has already handled increased numbers of online returns. In the week after Christmas, the number of parcels returned via Royal Mail Tracked Returns service increased 41%, compared to the average number of daily returns in December.
According to Royal Mail Delivery Matters research conducted in cooperation with Hall & Partners, e-commerce is now the main method for Christmas shopping for more than half (56%) of shoppers. It accounts for more than three quarters (77%) of the overall Christmas spending.
Last year, one in six online shoppers claimed to have returned or were planning to return an online Christmas purchase, the research further revealed. In terms of product categories, clothes are most likely to be returned. Nearly half of online shoppers (46%) return clothing after Christmas, with toys and electronics being the second most returned categories of online purchases (both 7%).
Nick Landon, Managing Director Royal Mail Parcels, said: “Monday is set to be a huge day for mailing back unwanted Christmas gifts and online purchases. We expect the volume of return parcels to jump by more than 50% on this single day.
“More and more shoppers are using the mail to return their unwanted online purchases. At this time of year, the easiest way for many shoppers to return their items is to pop them in the mail rather than tackle the post-Christmas queues,” he added.
