Retail faces £130m black hole in Black Friday returns

As concerns grow over the wisdom of joining Black Friday, a new study seems to reinforce Asda’s decision to bow out of the madness by revealing UK retailers will be forced to give back £130m to shoppers, who will return their bargains just days after the event.
Last year, Brits spent £810m online alone on Black Friday, and this year the figure is expected to break through the £1bn barrier but most firms fail to factor in the huge number of items which are sent back, says the Clear Returns report.
“While at first glance, Black Friday is esteemed to be an effective key trading day, however it’s a gloomier picture once returns are calculated in. What retailers must recall is a deal is just a deal when a client chooses to keep a thing – and the guarantee of a Black Friday rebate alone won’t not be sufficient to close the desire hole and secure a ‘keep’,” said Clear Returns founder and chief executive Vicky Brock.
This year it falls on November 27 which means that by mid-December, £600m worth of stock purchased between Black Friday and early December will already be making its way through the retail system.
Clear Returns has dubbed December 12, Out of Stock Saturday as the retail sector battles with stock control and is unsure how many items will be returned.
According to the company, between 25% and 40% of all products requested online in the UK are returned.

TOPICS:Black Friday