National Returns Day is coming up on January 2, when Americans return most packages to retailers. January is always the biggest month for returns, and for this reason many retailers have their fiscal year end set at the end of this month so the returns won’t count against the next quarter.
In a note Thursday, United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said that it forecasts a record National Returns Day, with 1.9 million returns expected, 26% more than last year. This will be the seventh consecutive record National Returns Day due to the growing e-commerce activity.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced earlier this month that it is offering customers at least one free return option on millions of items sold on its site, not to mention it has an expanded footprint of places customers can return these items.
The free returns are now available for electronics, household items, pet supplies, kitchen appliances and more, in addition to shoes and apparel, no matter the reason for the return. For the holidays, items shipped and fulfilled by Amazon between Nov. 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2019, can be returned until Jan. 31, 2020.
Returns can be processed at Amazon stores, at hub locations where Amazon Lockers are available, through United Parcel Service store locations, or at Kohl’s stores and Whole Foods locations.
However, some analysts believe that the record number of returns on the way for this holiday season could end up costing the e-commerce giant.
Managing so many returns is part of what Amazon has to be prepared for, since it doesn’t have a huge fleet of stores like Walmart and Target.
Shares of Amazon were last seen up about 1% at $1,888.07, in a 52-week range of $1,449.00 to $2,035.80. The consensus price target is $2,167.56.
UPS recently traded at $118.70 a share and has a 52-week range of $92.65 to $125.31. The consensus price target is $125.46.
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