CBRE forecasts online returns could total as much as $41.6b this holiday season

Retailers and shippers this holiday season will handle more returns than ever of goods bought online, illustrating a costly drawback to e-commerce’s growth that the industry is working hard to contain, according to a new report from CBRE.

CBRE calculates a maximum value for this season’s returns of online purchases at $41.6 billion by applying the standard percentage range for online returns — 15 percent to 30 percent — to this year’s projected holiday retail sales. Digital Commerce 360, the data and analysis provider formerly known as Internet Retailer, forecasts that online sales in November and December will total $138.5 billion.

In contrast, the average return rate for merchandise bought in stores is roughly 8 percent. E-commerce, however, established an early and enduring practice by many companies of waiving shipping costs on returned merchandise, which consumers now widely expect and use.

For its latest annual report on online returns, CBRE a