Retailers either tighten or loosen their return policies each year. And this year, like every year, their motivation for making adjustments is the same: to stem the tide of return fraud.
The retail industry is expected to lose an estimated $2.7 billion in return fraud this holiday season and an estimated $9.6 billion this year, according to a National Retail Federation survey.
The survey also said that 6.4 percent of holiday returns are expected to be fraudulent this year, down from 7.5 percent last year.
Also in the study, 69 percent of the 134 retailers interviewed said they have changed their company's return policy to combat fraud. While 16.9 percent of retailers said they will tighten their policies, 3.8 percent said they will relax theirs.
Target Corp. usually allows customers to return items within 90 days of purchase, However, the company will accept returns on purchases made during the holiday season for up to 12 months. Target limits and periodically adjusts the monetary amount of the total purchases returned. This year it stands at items totaling less than $70, but that amount has ranged from $20 to $100 in the past few years.
"The reason we went through so much change in our return policy accommodations is that we continually seek feedback from our guests regarding their service expectations," said Sonja Pothen, a spokeswoman for Target.
Sears has extended its time period slightly for holiday returns, said Tom Aiello, a spokesman for Sears Corporate Holdings.
The store will accept items purchased between Nov. 14 and Dec. 13 for up to 120 days. But home electronics and mattresses will have to be returned within 60 days.
"We want to make it as convenient as possible for the consumers," Aiello said.
Among the retailers who have not changed their return policies is Amazon.com. The online retailer gives customers until Jan. 31 to return items purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31.
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