After a strong holiday shopping season, many consumers are now hitting the stores again — this time to return their purchases.
Altogether, consumers spent $257.8 billion online between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, jumping 6.8% year over year to a fresh record for e-commerce, according to a new report from Adobe Analytics.
However, returns then spiked 4.7% compared to last year in the days immediately following Christmas Day, from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31. Returns are expected to increase in the first few weeks of January, as well, Adobe found.
“It’s a pretty predictable uptick post-Christmas,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “That’s a part of the overall experience.”
In 2025, returns were expected to amount to 16% of all merchandise sales, totaling $849.9 billion in returned goods, according to an October report by the National Retail Federation.
