Survey: Shoppers Will Trade Return Fees for Convenience

A recent survey of online shoppers concludes that 70 percent of U.S. consumers are willing to pay for more convenient, premium return experiences – and 50 percent already have. That finding is contained in a new survey from Loop.

“Merchants can no longer fear adding return fees,” said Jonathan Poma, CEO of Loop, a post-purchase platform that enables more than 1800 Shopify brands to convert returns into exchanges. “Instead, they need to add return fees smartly. Our recent survey confirmed that shoppers are expecting premium return options like at-home pickup or box-less return drop-offs. And that a majority of shoppers are even willing to pay for them. This is a huge, profitable opportunity for merchants.”

Poma bases those sentiments on Loop’s survey of 1,000 U.S. online shoppers in December 2022 that was designed to better understand consumer preferences in the post-purchase experience. Even as consumers are becoming more cost-conscious in their spending, convenience continues to reign. Next to convenience, consumers value sustainability in the return process, with 73 percent of shoppers regularly reviewing return policies to gauge the sustainability level of a retailer’s return practice when considering a purchase.

Click here to read more survey results.