UK: 50% of retailers accept item returns in brick-and-mortar stores

The survey outlines that, in 2007, 40% of retailers were willing to accept returns of purchased goods online.

Research also indicates that 44% of retailers provide the click-and-collect feature which enables customers to buy online and pick up from a store.

According to the same survey, 53% of retailers give the customers returns options. A significant portion of retailers offer Collect+ option, which allows customers to return their items to one of over 5,000 corner shops or other Collect+ members.

While 16% of retailers surveyed gave customers this Collect+ option in 2013, in 2014, the share of retailers having this option has increased to 28%. Post is still the most popular option, with 86% of the retailers offering this. A carrier collection became less popular, as it went down from 24% to 16%.

Moreover, 50% of t retailers funded the cost of returning an item, either by sending a paid carrier or by providing a postage paid label. 1 in 6 retailers paid both the cost of the return and refunded the original delivery charge.

The survey was conducted on 217 retailers (companies like Argos, Adidas, Burberry, Harrods, Play.com and Zara), of which 195 had a network of stores.