Now that the holiday gifts have been unpacked, it’s time to rush to make the returns.
As Latonya Rascoe received the last wave of Christmas gifts ready to be shipped from a Fedex office in Anchorage, Alaska, another wave was arriving.
“We even work Christmas Day here at the counter taking your returns,” Rascoe said.
As of Friday, the National Retail Federation projects nearly $900 billion in merchandise will be returned.
Returns from the holidays are rushing
The NRF expects about 17% of sales to be returned this year, peaking by January 2.
Last year, online purchases were the most likely to be returned, leading to a longer holiday shipping period.
“They go back to anything they don’t like, anything they don’t want, anything that was too small, too big, we go back,” Rascoe said.
At the FedEx Anchorage shipping center, they sort up to 80,000 packages per day.
FedEx’s holiday rush lasts from the start of Thanksgiving until three weeks after Christmas, according to Tracy Watkins, FedEx senior track manager. It is working to maintain nearly three dozen cargo planes that will transport 80,000 packages on schedule.
Each cargo plane can transport more than 20,000 packages. From Alaska, a key global gateway, they could travel to FedEx hubs in Oakland, Indianapolis and Memphis, or to Asia and the Pacific.
Return policies
Worldwide, FedEx processed approximately 16 million deliveries daily. Christmas.
Before returning unwanted gifts, experts advise doing your homework, as return policies vary.
Nerdwallet’s Kimberly Palmer Warns Some Retailers can even charge funds to return the goods.
“Keep them in their original packaging,” Palmer said. “You have the receipts and you don’t wait. Many people miss the deadline for processing returns.
