Returns policies influence where people buy, according to two 2026 surveys that put refund charges, exchanges and the handling of unwanted goods alongside price and delivery in retailers’ commercial decisions.
In an April survey of 1,000 UK adults conducted by IMRG, 85.6% said a retailer’s returns policy was quite or very important when deciding whether to buy online. The research, published with delivery-software provider nShift on 11 August, also found that 66.1% would be likely or very likely to accept an exchange offered when starting a return.
Separate research commissioned by returns-platform provider Loop found that 63% of its US consumer respondents had abandoned a purchase or stopped shopping with a retailer because of its returns policy. Those respondents had all made an online return in the previous six months.
The surveys report people’s answers, not a controlled experiment showing what a particular refund policy will do to sales. Both were commissioned or published with companies selling services to retailers.
A return has more than one financial outcome
A refund reverses revenue, but the cost of the process extends to transport, inspection, customer service and preparing a saleable item for stock again. If the goods are damaged, seasonal or no longer in demand, the recovered stock may be worth less than expected.
An exchange can preserve a purchase, although the replacement still costs money to pick, pack and deliver. Store credit creates a future obligation. Neither should automatically be counted as an improvement in profit.
The UK survey found that 42.3% would be much less inclined to buy again after a poor return, while 28.8% said they would stop altogether. These stated intentions cannot be converted directly into a forecast of lost customers.
For retailers, order value before refunds can give an incomplete picture. A policy might encourage more initial purchases but also generate more goods coming back. The sales customers keep and the cost of serving those orders determine the commercial result.
Consider a hypothetical £100 item with a £60 product cost and £10 in other variable costs for a completed sale, all on the same basis excluding value added tax (VAT). It contributes £30 towards overheads and profit. A full refund followed by £12 of return-processing costs leaves a £22 cost if the original £10 cannot be recovered, even when the item can be resold at its original value.
Reducing a return charge may attract additional completed sales, but the extra contribution must cover any additional return costs and other concessions. Our break-even calculator explains how price, variable costs and sales volume interact. It cannot predict how customers will respond to a returns policy.
Customers do not all want the same service
More than 70% of UK respondents said they would be likely or very likely to take an online purchase back to a shop if that option were available.
On fees, 47.6% considered a charge fair for frequent returners. Acceptance in a questionnaire is not legal authority to impose a fee, nor evidence that the charge would leave demand unchanged.
Loop’s 10 September announcement provides a separate US comparison. Sapio Research surveyed 1,000 consumers and 200 retail decision-makers online in May and June. Among the consumers, 58% said they always or often checked returns policies before buying online.
The American and British percentages should not be pooled. The samples, questions and markets differ. In particular, a survey restricted to recent returners cannot establish the habits of every US shopper.
A retailer can learn more from separating the reasons goods come back: an incorrect item, damage, a poor description, sizing, late delivery or a customer changing their mind. A broad “unwanted” category can conceal a product-information problem the business could fix.
An exchange can address a customer’s wish for the same product in another size or colour. Offering a replacement that is unavailable, or delaying a refund to push an exchange, does not resolve the original problem.
Commercial policy must sit above statutory rights
UK retailers have to separate an optional goodwill policy from a customer’s legal rights. A longer Christmas return window, for example, is a commercial promise. Statutory cancellation rights apply independently where the law provides them.
The government’s guidance on returns and refunds says online, mail and telephone customers generally have 14 days after receiving goods to tell the seller they want to cancel, followed by another 14 days to send them back. Exceptions include certain personalised, perishable and unsealed hygiene-sensitive goods.
Faulty or misdescribed goods raise separate rights. Sale items carry the same rights as full-price purchases. A retailer cannot use its published policy to remove statutory protections.
For businesses evaluating a policy change, a manageable trial can track conversion, refund value, exchanges, return-processing cost and repeat purchases over the same period. The evaluation needs enough time for purchases to be returned; an early increase in orders may disappear once refunds arrive.
Our explanation of measuring additional sales sets out why a comparable control group matters. Comparing this month with last month alone can confuse a policy’s effect with seasonality, promotions or a different mix of products.
For seasonal stock, the time taken to inspect and resell a return can affect the amount recovered. A garment arriving back before a selling season ends may still sell at its planned price; one arriving after markdowns may not. A fast customer-facing returns portal cannot compensate for goods sitting unprocessed in a warehouse.
