full

full
Published on:

14th Dec 2023

Made to last

That's the sound of me lying on the floor of my dining room.

I'm fighting with a giant metal cabinet that the girlfriend now uses to store her baking tools.

We have two of them, but we only paid for one of them.

The first one was defective.

We asked for a replacement part.

Instead, they sent us a whole new cabinet.

And the company said, keep the old one.

According to Reuters, this is happening more.

Americans are expected to return more than $170 billion of goods this year, and nearly 60% of retailers have return lists or keep it policies for products whose returns cost more than their value.

And according to one of my favorite substacks, Demography Unplugged, returns have increased due to online shopping.

Demography Unplugged

New Retail Policy: Keep Your Returns

This holiday season, many retailers have adopted a “keep it” return policy. Instead of giving back unwanted merchandise, customers can keep the items free of charge. —Reuters…

Read more

4 days ago · 3 likes · Demography Unplugged

Customers often change their minds when they see their items in person.

And honestly, who hasn't done that?

I've done that.

The average return costs retailers about $30.

Many stores believe that time and the cost of processing these returns aren't worth the effort.

Nor are most of the things we buy.

It feels like there was some sort of secret meeting convened where the powers that be decided that most of the furniture and electronics that we buy will be more cumbersome and harder to put together.

That they'd stop working sooner.

That these items won't be worth our time.

I hope this cabinet proves me wrong.

The Holiday eCommerce Returns Surge: Unwrapping Strategies for Retailers in 2023

https://www.gotrg.com/post/the-holiday-ecommerce-returns-surge-unwrapping-strategies-for-retailers-in-2023

Let me know what you think in the comments at jamesbrowntv.substack.com

Email: jamesbrowntv@gmail.com

Leave me a voicemail or text: 585-484-0339

Follow me on social media:

YouTube Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCixNKcH6SP5OCLHMdQ_gVTw

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbrowntv/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/jamesbrowntv

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesbrowntv

Listen for free

Show artwork for All of the Above with James Brown

About the Podcast

All of the Above with James Brown
Exploring ideas big and small with fascinating people
I explore the big ideas that bring us together and meet the people who make them happen.

Musings on news, life, and television. A few minutes a day, five days a week.

Hosted by James Brown is an award winning journalist whose work has appeared on WXXI, PBS, NPR, BBC, and a slew of other places from sea to shining sea. He's the former host of USA TODAY's 5 Things, now The Excerpt. My work is proudly produced in Rochester, New York.

My goal is to create a diverse array of projects in the style of the people I grew up following: like Bill Moyers, Paul Harvey, John Stossel, Charles Osgood, Charlie Rose, Adam Curtis, Tavis Smiley, Douglas Ruskoff, Tony Kornheiser, and Art Bell, with my own twist, of course.

You can find my work anywhere you get your podcasts.

To support my work and tell me what you think join me at JamesBrownTV.substack.com.
Or email me at jamesbrowntv@gmail.com.
You can also leave me a message at 585-484-0339. And yes, I will call you back.
On that note, I'm James Brown, and as always, be well

About your host

Profile picture for james brown

james brown