Holiday Gift Returns Expected to be up 10 to 15 percent this year
Value of returned gifts could exceed $117 billion.
While some analysts predicted as much as a 4 percent increase in sales during the 2012 holiday season, actual figures show only a 0.7 percent rise. The effects of Hurricane Sandy and consumers fears over the fiscal cliff are to blame, according to some experts. Regardless of whether sales were up a little or a lot, one thing remains true no matter what the economy is like - people will return gifts. A recent Chicago Sun-Times article quoted AlixPartners' Joel Bines who believes that free shipping and free shipping on returns removes a major hurdle to many shoppers' interest in returning or exchanging unwanted or ill-fitting gifts. If you are planning to return a gift this year, there are a few things to keep in mind. Different stores have …
