By its own estimate, United Parcel Service (UPS) says the busiest day for holiday and Christmas gift returns won’t happen after Christmas and the actual holiday season is over. As it happens, the busiest day for returns is today, Dec. 19. Yes, you read that right.
A whopping 1.5 million returns are expected to be sent back to retailers today, on what is known by (UPS) UPS as National Returns Day, the very busiest day for returns for the entire year. It’s the sixth year in a row that a new record has been set for the number of parcels returned in a single day. And really, that tracks with an already hectic season for online retailers and their shipping partners. Throughout the month of December, UPS says consumers have been sending back an average of one million parcels a day.
#DidYouKnow today is #NationalReturnsDay? We expect a record 1.5 million packages returned to retailers. That’s a lot of ugly sweaters from grandma! 📦🎄 https://t.co/QS8CNkUYb2pic.twitter.com/XNC4gs5ezs
— UPS (@UPS) December 19, 2018
And of course, the shipping giant does anticipate a second returns spike in January, but the fact remains that today is another record day for sending back stuff you didn’t want to keep for yourself or give to anyone else. UPS predicts that on Jan. 3, 2019, another 1.3 million packages will head back to online retailers. The shipping company also notes that based on its own search, 75% of consumers end up shipping returns to retailers.