‘We were getting crushed’: Brands cut back on free online returns to offset tariff costs
Free online returns — once a standard perk of e-commerce — are becoming the latest casualty of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
After years of footing the bill for free returns, more retailers are raising the bar for customers who want to ship back unwanted goods. Some brands are even eliminating the perk altogether as they try to mitigate the steep costs of tariffs.
In the U.S., the number of retailers requiring a return fee has jumped from 66% to 72% this year, according to a new report from the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns. Around 33% of merchants surveyed said they began charging or increasing fees for returns due to “economic uncertainty and risk of tariffs,” per the report.