How shoppers are exploiting return policies — and costing retailers billions

How shoppers are exploiting return policies — and costing retailers billions

Shoppers are increasingly exploiting return policies with various scams to defraud companies, and it is costing retailers billions.

Empty boxes and missing parts: Shoppers are exploiting retail return policies

Shoppers are increasingly exploiting return policies with various scams to defraud companies, and it is costing retailers billions. While retailers have tried to mitigate returns, they amounted to $743 billion in 2023. Of that, about $101 billion was fraudulent, according to the National Retail Federation. This problem is getting more sophisticated as shoppers grow increasingly duplicitous, such as returning empty boxes, using fake or altered re…