DALLAS, TX — The post-Christmas rush to return unwanted gifts surged this year, with the National Retail Federation reporting over $800 billion worth of gifts sent back in 2022. Amidst the returns, shoppers are cautioned to watch out for added return fees.
At the bustling Dallas Galleria, post-holiday crowds showed no signs of slowing down despite Christmas having passed.
A local Dallas reporter from CBS News Texas spoke to several shoppers at the Galleria. One such shopper navigating the bustling mall said "It took me 30 minutes to get into a fitting room. It took me another 30 minutes to check out." said Arsema Yohannesa shopper navigating the bustling mall.
Carolina Magana, another shopper, remarked, "It's been very fun. It's just a lot of people in the shops, and I just want to exchange their gift cards."
Britany Guerca and her father attempted to avoid the rush by doing their shopping after Christmas, only to find the stores still packed.
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(Credit: Pinterest, Just for soul)
"There's a lot of people returning stuff and buying stuff, and there's a lot of people from out of town," Guerca told reporters. "But, we decided to wait it out because we need the stores. We were hoping it wasn't going to be crazy, but the stores are still crazy right now! We were longer in line than we were inside shopping, but it is worth it because the stores just started their sale today."
Apart from shopping, many were also at the mall to return gifts, encountering new fees for return shipping from various retailers like Zara, J. Crew, H&M, and even Amazon, which reportedly charges a $1 fee for UPS returns, according to logistics company Narvar.
Explaining the rationale behind these added costs, Anisa Kumar, Chief Customer Officer for Narvar, cited transportation and reselling expenses as significant factors. "It arrives in the warehouse. It's got to be scanned and put back in and made available to sell. And there's labor involved with all of that," Kumar said.
However, in-store returns may not incur such fees, as noted by shopper Israel Vango, who returned items directly to the store without encountering additional charges.
"Never really thought about [the fees] until I was asked. I checked my receipt, and I didn't see any return fee, thank God," Vango said.
Stores advise shoppers to carefully review receipts and return policies to ensure proper handling of returned items.
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