One in 10 Christmas gifts have already been returned as experts warn: “For a small business, that’s expensive”

ONE in 10 Christmas gifts have already been returned as experts warned “for a small business, that’s expensive”.

Fresh figures from the ecommerce marketing platform Omnisend reveal that 11% have been sent back.

According to Omnisend’s analysis, the number of returns made in the first seven days after Christmas Day rose by 18% year-on-year, highlighting a growing post-festive returns surge as Brits try out their gifts and see if they fit and suit their needs. 

The data shows that clothing dominates post-Christmas returns, accounting for more than half (53%) of all items sent back. Sports equipment (9%), home and garden furnishings (7%), beauty products (6%) and health and fitness items (6%) also feature high up in the list, reflecting a mix of unwanted gifts and items bought with good intentions that didn’t quite land.

Experts said the findings point to a Christmas shopping period where consumers were still willing to spend, but also more selective and pragmatic once the festivities ended.

Marty Bauer, retail and ecommerce expert at Omnisend, said: “While the January sales may still be in full swing, so are the January returns according to our latest data.

“Clothing remains the biggest category for refunds and exchanges. Fit, cut, and comfort are incredibly subjective, and shoppers are far more willing to send items back if they don’t feel quite right. With household budgets still under pressure, many Brits are also quicker to return items they won’t use, either to recover cash or exchange for something more practical and to their own taste.

He added: “While returns are undeniably challenging for retailers from a logistics and cost perspective, they also represent an important moment in the customer journey. Brands that make returns simple, transparent and fast, and encourage exchanges rather than refunds, can turn the busiest returns period of the year into a powerful opportunity to build trust and long-term loyalty."

Taseer Ahmad, Director of Operations at Leicester-based Axies Digital, said it can be very expensive for small businesses.

He added: "Some of this is simply changing habits: online shopping is increasingly treated, for better or worse, like ‘try before you commit’. For a small business, that’s expensive, because a return isn’t a reset: you’ve still paid to win the customer, you’ve still fulfilled the order, and then you refund the cash while the stock sits in limbo and might not come back resellable. 

"Big retailers can price that into the machine while small businesses usually can’t, so they tighten policies, put prices up, or cut growth/marketing spend. Scale that up and it becomes an economy drag: more friction in the system, higher prices baked in, and less reinvestment from the very businesses that create local jobs."

Kate Allen, Owner at Kingsbridge-based Finest Stays, said she is well-versed in returns at Christmas.

She continued: "I had a bit of a double-whammy this year; a thoughtful but very-not-me gift from my boyfriend (receipt thankfully included), a hat from a work colleague, and a pair of supermarket shoes my daughter didn’t like. 

"Suddenly, I was less focused on refunds and more on where all this stuff actually ends up. What really bothers me is the waste. In big retail, returns don’t always go back on the shelf. Many are written off or binned because it’s cheaper. 

“At Christmas, when volumes spike, that ‘convenience’ quietly turns into an environmental problem, which feels far more cringe-inducing than pretending I loved the presents in the first place.”

Kundan Bhaduri, Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at London-based The Kushman Group, said refunds is a “mass liquidation event”.

He added: "In today's cost of living crisis, gratitude quickly evaporates when faced with a choice between a novelty jumper and paying the heating bill. 

“We are seeing a mass liquidation event where households are ruthlessly converting sentimental clutter into hard cash to bridge the gap until the January payday.”

Ben Perks, Managing Director at Stourbridge-based Orchard Financial Advisers, advised people to just sell on unwanted gifts rather than return them.

He continued: "You only have to click ‘New with Tags’ on Vinted to see that many Xmas prezzies are being disposed of. It’s 100% profit if you didn’t buy it, get it sold and enjoy the cash. 

"Be savvy, granny won’t notice that you never wore that wolf print jumper."

Michelle Lawson, Director at Fareham-based Lawson Financial, said clothing can be a pain if they don't fit.

He added: "Clothing is not surprising as sizing is all over the place for both men and women. My husband got a shirt from his parents which was his ‘normal’ size but was massive. 

"He asked for the same in a smaller size which they didn’t have so his parents swapped for something similar instead. The smaller size was a different brand and then too small resulting in another return. We buy gifts directly off given lists now but it’s becoming a pain."