Rise Of Reverse Logistics in Retail

It is the year 1994, and I am in a clothing retailer shop to buy a new pair of jeans. After doing window shopping for a while, I selected a few pair of jeans and went to the trial room to check the fitting and look. After a few more trials, I made my mind and selected the pair of jeans which I want to buy. I did the payment in-store and came back home with my new pair of jeans.

Fast forward 25 years, and it is the year 2019. I need a new pair of jeans. I log in to an online retailer website and browse through the different look and style jeans available. I am not confident about the texture of the fabric and how I will look wearing it. I see the free return delivery/ drop off policy and decide to order five pair of jeans to my home address. After trying at home, I will keep the pair which I will like and return the remaining four pairs to the online retailer.

Returns have increased exponentially with the rise of online retail commerce. It is especially more prevalent in the apparel and footwear industry compare to other genres of retail products. All the trial, look and feel check which we used to do in-store before buying has shifted from store to our home. The in-store apparel buying process broadly is initially looking around, taking the trials in-store, selecting the clothes you like and finally payment. In online shopping, it starts with browsing…