From Thomas Industry: A recent analysis from the National Retail Federation shows the average store sees $166 million in returned products for every $1 billion in sales. According to the Federation, $761 billion in items was returned to retailers last year, accounting for about 17% of total retail sales in the United States and a significant rise over 2020 figures.
This increase in returns has resulted in a “supply chain stock factor,” in which companies must coordinate a costly and time-consuming returned inventory acceptance process. Enter reverse logistics companies, which go through a multi-step procedure to examine, accept, ship, and replace the things that have been returned. Demand for reverse logistics has surged 129 percent year over year on the Thomasnet.com platform, and is currently up 310 percent over Q1 norms.
If you’re interested in learning more about reverse logistics and getting a behind-the-scenes look at the booming industrial sector, we recommend listening to David Sobie, CEO of Happy Returns, a reverse logistics firm, on the Thomas Industry Update Podcast. Happy Returns formed in 2016 and was acquired by Paypal last year in an effort to streamline the company’s logistics operation.