Leading returns management provider ZigZag is celebrating its 10th anniversary by charting the rise of returns from fine print to boardroom priority. Since ZigZag CEO Al Gerrie founded the company in 2015, returns have evolved from a logistical afterthought to a critical area of business for retailers, shaped by paid returns, an ever-growing list of returns options and rising concerns over returns abuse.
ZigZag identified a series of trends that have shaped returns over the decade:
- Paid returns policies: Retailers shifting to paid returns has been a defining trend this decade, with a 17% increase in the 130 top UK retailers offering paid returns in 2024. Brands such as H&M, Zara, and ASOS are among the most recent examples of retailers introducing charges to manage the financial and environmental cost of returns, at a time when returns rates top 30% and UK returns exceeded £27 billion in 2024 alone.
- Expansion of returns methods: Returns locations have surged, from the use of lockers to home collection and convenience store drop-off. Commercially available returns portals didn’t exist in 2015 and today only 1% of customers use a label-in-the-box solution. Lockers have been the fastest-growing option of recent years, with a 112% year-on-year increase during 2024’s Black Friday shopping boom for ZigZag’s clients.
- Emergence of returns abuse: As returns options and volumes have grown, so too have abusive returns behaviours that hamper retailers’ bottom lines. Over the decade, a greater grasp of data has driven understanding of staging, bracketing and wardrobing as retailers search for ways to identify customers engaging in unsustainable returns behaviours.
Returns as we know them didn’t exist 10 years ago. A returns label in a box was standard but did not give retailers enough information about what was coming back. Now retailers have an abundance of data, and consumers have more convenience and choice around return methods and locations available to them. Returns can put a strain on businesses, but now there is a far greater understanding of the levers to pull to manage volumes. We’ve seen a significant uptick in retailers taking decisive actions on returns to make the industry more sustainable. That’s a key reason why conversations about returns are now happening in the boardroom. Returns aren’t just terms and conditions any more, they’re a critical business function.
– Al Gerrie, CEO, ZigZag
The Next Decade: What is on the Returns Horizon?
- Advanced AI integration: AI’s role in predicting returns volumes and consumer behaviours is fast growing. AI technology is beginning to automate logistical aspects of the returns process to improve the time it takes to refund customers and get items back into the market.
- Shopper experiences: personalised shopping experiences and greater use of augmented reality are the future. These methods will reduce returns volumes by giving consumers a more informed choice at checkout and allowing retailers to balance efficiency with consumer satisfaction by tailoring returns policies to individual customers.
- Stricter returns policies and fraud detection: shorter returns windows and fees dependent on specific returns behaviours are increasingly being used to manage costs. For acts of returns fraud, identifying repeat offenders will only improve as returns portals grow in sophistication.
The returns industry is continuing to evolve in a way that benefits consumers and retailers alike. Innovative solutions to reducing return rates will help consumers’ favourite retailers stay afloat, and often are simply aimed at improving the experience for all involved. Returnless refunds are a great example of a simple idea that keeps the consumer happy while protecting the retailer, but doing this profitably wouldn’t have been possible without sophisticated returns data analysis. We’re heading into 2025 aiming to facilitate more positive progress through our expertise in the field.
– Al Gerrie, CEO, ZigZag
