Christmas gift fails: these items are returned the most at Galaxus

Online retail’s always booming in the last few months of the year. From Black Friday bargains to Christmas presents – the urge to spend is particularly high when the year’s coming to a close.

The return of the unwanted Xmas present

With so many purchases made during the Christmas season, most returns start coming in at the beginning of the year. «In January, customers start sending back items they don’t want. These definitely include the odd Christmas present that didn’t go down so well,» says Lauritz Fricke. Together with his team, he’s the man in charge of returns handling at Galaxus.

«In our After Sales department, we check returned articles and get the majority in shape for resale,» Lauritz explains. These products are then resold with a label saying Returned & Tested.

Wrong size prime reason for returns

The most common reason customers state for returning an item is that it’s too big or too small. This mainly affects clothes and shoes. While just under 20 per cent of all returns are sent back because they didn’t meet expectations, over 40 per cent of customers give other reasons including incorrect delivery, no more need for the product or incompatibility of the product.

Galaxus strives to keep the return rate as low as possible by investing a lot of resources in product data maintenance. In other words, detailed product descriptions and illustrations are intended to prevent bad buys. Since early 2024, customers have even been able to update incorrect or missing product data themselves.

By rating products and offering advice on purchases, our Community also plays an important role in helping customers find the right product. This, in turn, also prevents items being returned.

Return rate around five per cent

Although the return rate’s highest in January, it’s still at a low level. «In our European markets, the return rate’s around five per cent. However, we’re seeing a downward trend,» says Lauritz.

Fashion returned the most

Galaxus sees the highest return rates for fashion items. Last year, customers returned the most shoes, blouses, jackets and the like in April: customers returned 14% of the fashion items they bought – more than in any other month and in any other product category.

Shoppers were least likely to return beauty products and household items. It seems that people know which shampoo smells nice and what they need for cooking and cleaning.

Thanks but no thanks: the smartphone

So which products are currently returned the most? Smartphones, smartwatches and notebooks are at the top of the list of items returned since Christmas Eve. Nine out of ten products are electronic devices, except for toy figurines – these also made the top 10.

How happy are you with the Christmas presents you got? Loving them or already returned some? Maybe you use resale platforms to get rid of unwanted gifts? Join the discussion in the comments.