E-commerce Returns Statistics (2026)

Returns are now a structural cost of selling online, not an edge case. This roundup of ecommerce returns statistics pulls together the most useful, up-to-date figures on return rates, the cost of returns, why shoppers send things back, return fraud and the environmental toll of reverse logistics. Every number below is sourced and linked so you can cite it with confidence, with Southeast Asian and Singapore context added where the data exists.

Top statistics

US shoppers were expected to return about US$849.9 billion in merchandise in 2025, or 15.8% of retail sales (NRF, 2025).
Online purchases are returned far more often than in-store ones: an estimated 19.3% of online sales were returned in 2025 versus 15.8% overall (NRF, 2025).
By channel, online returns run around 15.2% against just 5% for in-store — roughly three times higher (ICSC, 2024).
Apparel bought online is returned at 22% versus 6.2% for the same items in store (ICSC, 2024).
About 82% of shoppers say free returns are an important factor when deciding where to buy, up from 76% a year earlier (NRF, 2025).
Roughly 9% of all returns are estimated to be fraudulent (NRF, 2025).
Returns fraud and abuse cost retailers more than US$100 billion in 2023 (Loop Returns, 2024).
Processing a single return costs a retailer roughly US$20–30 once shipping, inspection, restocking and support are counted (Zeta Global, 2025).
US ecommerce returns sent an estimated 9.5 billion pounds of goods to landfill and generated about 24 million metric tons of CO2 in a single year (Optoro via CleanHub, 2022).
About 51% of Gen Z shoppers say they regularly “bracket” — order multiple sizes or colours intending to return most (NRF / Happy Returns via Digital Commerce 360, 2025).

Return rates: online vs in-store

Total US retail returns reached about US$890 billion in 2024 at a 16.9% return rate, before easing to a projected 15.8% in 2025 (NRF, 2025).
The ecommerce return rate was estimated at 19.3% for 2025, consistently higher than the all-channel average (NRF, 2025).
Online returns run roughly 21% higher than a retailer’s overall return rate (Zeta Global, 2025).
Across all categories, online returns averaged 15.2% versus 5% for in-store purchases (ICSC, 2024).
The expected US holiday-season return rate was about 17% of holiday sales (NRF, 2025).

Category differences

Apparel is the most-returned online category, at 22% online versus 6.2% in store (ICSC, 2024).
Discount department-store goods showed one of the widest gaps: 33.2% returned online against 6.2% in store (ICSC, 2024).
Clothing averages around a 32% return rate, while consumer electronics sit near 7% (CleanHub, 2024).
Some categories see return rates of 30–40%, driven by fashion and footwear (Zeta Global, 2025).

Reasons for returns

The leading reasons for online returns are damaged items (52%), poor fit (50%), item not as expected (42%) and the wrong item being sent (37%) (ICSC, 2024).
Size and fit remains the single biggest structural driver, especially in apparel and footwear (ICSC, 2024).
Around 87% of apparel shoppers who buy online say they intentionally overbuy so they can try items at home (ICSC, 2024).

Bracketing and serial returners

About 51% of Gen Z shoppers say they bracket regularly (NRF / Happy Returns via Digital Commerce 360, 2025).
Shoppers aged 18–30 made an average of 7.7 online returns over the previous 12 months, more than any other generation (NRF, 2025).
Nearly 4 in 10 online shoppers say they, or someone they know, engaged in returns abuse or fraud in the past year (Loop Returns, 2024).
Among those who bracket abusively, about 25% repeat the behaviour weekly (Loop Returns, 2024).

Return fraud

Roughly 9% of all returns are estimated to be fraudulent (NRF, 2025).
Returns fraud and abuse cost retailers more than US$100 billion in 2023, equal to about 13.7% of all returns that year (Loop Returns, 2024).
The most common fraud types reported by retailers were overstated quantity (71%), empty-box or “box of rocks” returns (65%) and counterfeit or decoy items (64%) (NRF, 2025).
About 30% of shoppers who admit to wardrobing — wearing an item then returning it — do so weekly (Loop Returns, 2024).

Cost of returns and reverse logistics

Handling a single return costs a retailer on average US$20–30 across shipping, inspection, restocking and support (Zeta Global, 2025).
Return-related costs — reverse logistics, restocking and fraud — are expected to cost US retailers over US$100 billion a year (Zeta Global, 2025).
Reverse logistics can account for around 25% of a fashion retailer’s total ecommerce carbon footprint if not managed well (SupplyChainBrain, 2024).

Consumer expectations and retailer response

Around 82% of shoppers cite free returns as a purchase-decision factor, and 76% prefer an instant refund or exchange (NRF, 2025).
About 71% of consumers say they are less likely to shop with a retailer again after a poor returns experience (NRF, 2025).
Roughly 71% of shoppers say they would stop buying online from a retailer that charged them return-shipping fees (ICSC, 2024).
Despite that, 72% of retailers now charge for at least some returns, up from 66% a year earlier (eMarketer / NRF, 2025).
Among retailers that introduced return fees, 47% reported more customer complaints, 37% lost customers, 34% saw lower average order value and 24% saw reduced sales (eMarketer / NRF, 2025).

Environmental impact

US ecommerce returns sent an estimated 9.5 billion pounds of goods to landfill in a single year (Optoro via CleanHub, 2022).
Those returns generated roughly 24 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually (Optoro via CleanHub, 2022).
Returning an item can add about 30% to the carbon emissions of the original delivery (Nature via CleanHub, 2024).
Online shopping generates around 4.8 times more packaging waste than an equivalent brick-and-mortar purchase (Science Direct via CleanHub, 2024).

Southeast Asia and Singapore context

Region-specific return-rate data for Southeast Asia is scarce, but the market’s scale and delivery patterns explain why returns are a growing operational headache locally.

Southeast Asian ecommerce sales were projected to more than double from about US$184 billion in 2024 to US$410 billion by 2030, a 14% CAGR (DBS, 2024).
Singapore’s ecommerce market was estimated at about US$5.04 billion in 2024 (Statista, 2024).
Singapore posts the region’s highest average order value, at roughly US$137.40 — meaning each returned parcel carries more value at risk (Statista, 2024).
About 81% of Singapore shoppers prefer to receive parcels at their doorstep, a delivery pattern that raises the odds of failed deliveries and returns as volumes grow (Maersk, 2024).

How WhiteBox helps

Returns only get expensive when the reverse flow is slow, blind or manual. WhiteBox runs its own Singapore warehouse, so returns come back to the same team that ships your orders — inspected, graded, repackaged or relabelled and put back into sellable stock with live visibility across every channel. See our Singapore fulfilment services or get in touch to talk through your returns volumes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average ecommerce return rate in 2025? Online returns were estimated at about 19.3% of ecommerce sales in 2025, well above the 15.8% all-channel retail return rate (NRF, 2025).

Why are online return rates higher than in-store? Shoppers cannot try or inspect items before buying, so sizing, fit and “not as expected” issues drive far more returns — online apparel returns at 22% versus 6.2% in store (ICSC, 2024).

How much does a return cost a retailer? On average around US$20–30 per return once shipping, inspection, restocking and support are included, before any lost-margin or fraud costs (Zeta Global, 2025).

How big a problem is return fraud? Roughly 9% of all returns are estimated to be fraudulent, and fraud and abuse cost retailers more than US$100 billion in 2023 (NRF, 2025; Loop Returns, 2024).

Are free returns going away? Not entirely, but they are shrinking: 72% of retailers now charge for at least some returns, up from 66% a year earlier, even though 82% of shoppers still weigh free returns when choosing where to buy (eMarketer / NRF, 2025).

Sources

Cite us: you are welcome to reuse these ecommerce returns statistics with attribution. Please credit WhiteBox and link back to this page (whitebox.sg/ecommerce-returns-statistics) so readers can check the underlying sources.