We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Gen-Z consumers lead rush to return gifts, FedEx Canada says
newsworthy

Gen-Z consumers lead rush to return gifts, FedEx Canada says

January 3, 2020
DC Velocity Staff
No Comments

Reverse logistics is an annual headache for logistics practitioners at brick and mortar shops and websites alike, and the biggest demographic group to blame for the trend is Generation Z, according to a study from FedEx Corp.

Like an ebbing tide, the annual flood of peak season orders booked in November and December comes bouncing back every January in a surge of returns. The event triggers lost profits for many retailers forced to foot the cost for the "reverse logistics" process of sorting all those goods.

UPS calls it "national returns day," and said the event peaked this year on Jan. 2, with an estimated 1.9 million returns packages deposited by consumers into the UPS network alone, a 26% spike from last year's peak returns day and the seventh consecutive record year.

Looking at another group of shoppers, fully one in six Canadians was expected to return gifts after the holidays, according to the 2019 FedEx Returns Economy Survey, a poll conducted on behalf of FedEx Express Canada, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp.

Within that group, the chief culprit was Canada's "Gen Z's"—loosely defined as the generation born between the mid- to late-1990s—who said that 21% of their group typically return some holiday gifts, nearly double the 11% of Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) who report returning gifts, FedEx said.

The survey even uncovered which gifts were most likely to get returned. Moms might want to skip this paragraph, but the statistics show that 36% of Canadian consumers report that they are most likely to return gifts from their mothers, based on responses from Canadians who said they typically return gifts. That rate was far above gift-rejection rates from other family members such as: fathers (22%), sisters (18%), brothers (17%), cousins (10%), grandmothers (8%), and grandfathers (6%).

To the relief of retailers struggling to sort those returns, many other shoppers don't even bother to return those misfit toys, but simply pass them along to another recipient. Nearly a quarter (24%) of Canadians in the survey admitted to re-gifting unwanted holiday gifts in a typical year. 

"Gen Zs are undeniably driving gift-return behaviors in Canada," Lisa Lisson, FedEx Express Canada president, said in a release. "In fact, our survey found that 52% of Gen Zs have returned gifts for cash back or store credit. This generation will continue to contribute to a greater proportion of buyer control. For Canadian businesses, incorporating an effective returns solution is critical to ensuring positive customer experiences."

A little #FirstDayOfWinter snow ?? can't slow us down. pic.twitter.com/gfvFwuGtWD

— FedEx (@FedEx) December 21, 2019
Transportation Last Mile Reverse Logistics Business Management & Finance
KEYWORDS FedEx
  • Related Articles

    B2B customers being left behind in rush to support B2C demand, FedEx executive says

    Happy Returns quadruples product return sites with FedEx Office deal

    Don't want to return that stuff? Keep it, Amazon says

Recent Articles by DC Velocity Staff

Trendy investors raise logistics cash through SPACs

Crown Battery enhances green energy initiatives

Industrial businesses gearing up for post-pandemic rebound, sourcing stats show

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Roadrunner Freight bolsters LTL capabilities with $50 million in new backing

  • Southeastern Freight Lines Promotes Marty Cox to Service Center Manager in Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Pull back or go deeper—how the pandemic influenced shipper-3PL engagement

  • Boston Dynamics trials box-lifting robot for unloading trucks

  • The growing crisis in agriculture exports: interview with Peter Friedmann

Now Playing on DCV-TV

0a4ad66a 2005 4164 a0fa a1cd5a5133c9

Automated Package Handling with Mobile Robots

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Discover sensor solutions that allow you to use AGCs or AGVs with your conveyors to enhance your logistics operations.

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Special Report: Supply Chain Trends in Retail & Consumer Goods

  • Fortify Your Operational Resilience

  • Cold Storage Automation: Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Meet Increasing Demand

  • The modern warehouse: Maximizing productivity and capacity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing