Despite tight budgets and wariness about the economy, U.S. consumers have come through for retailers in 2023, and that has continued into the all-important fourth quarter. Even with some holiday promotions moving into October, Black Friday and Cyber Monday helped push November retail sales up nearly 6% compared to last year.
But much of that will inevitably be undone. With retail sales come returns, and that’s always been especially true at the holidays. Last year, the National Retail Federation pegged retail’s return rate at 16.5%, or about $816 billion worth of merchandise, while at the holidays it was projected at close to 18% or nearly $171 billion.
