The Cost of Online Returns to UK retailers

We were proud to attend Deliver Europe in Amsterdam this year as both a sponsor and thought leader in returns management.

Deliver Europe 2025, held on 4-5 June 2025 at Taets Event Park in Amsterdam, marked its milestone 10th anniversary, drawing a record-breaking crowd of over 2,000 C- and D-level executives from leading retailers and supply chain organisations.

The programme featured keynote speeches by eco visionary Christiana Figueres and entrepreneurial icon Jo Malone CBE, alongside insights from leaders at Lenovo, THG, Mars Wrigley, Ann Summers, and Siemens on topics ranging from sustainable logistics and AI adoption to revolutionising fulfilment and breaking down supply chain silos.

However, in our humble, completely unbiased opinion, the real stars of the show were from ZigZag & Retail Economics.

Surrounded by an audience of leading retailers and logistics professionals, ZigZag joined the conversation shaping the future of eCommerce operations across the continent.

Our Founder & CEO, Al Gerrie, took to the stage alongside Richard Lim, CEO of Retail Economics, to unveil insights from our latest joint research into the returns behaviour of 2,000 UK consumers.

You can watch the full presentation here!

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The study identified four key returner personas

• Occasional Returners - Rarely returns items unless they fail to meet expectations. This group is the least costly for retailers, as they tend to return fewer items and exhibit less opportunistic behaviour.43% of your shoppers fit into this category but are only responsible for 23% of all returns. Retailers with an older customer base will benefit from these low impact returners more than other brands.
• Slow Returners - Tends to delay returns, sometimes for weeks. Nearly a third take advantage of cashback or rewards programs before returning items. They are also more likely to forget about returns or find return locations inconvenient. Gen Z and Millennials are the main culprits responsible for this laissez-faire attitude to returns. They have a massive impact on a retailer’s bottom line as they return items after their typical sales window. They are responsible for more than 21% of the returns value despite only representing 11% of the overall customer base.
• Efficient Returners - Promptly returns items, typically only returning a small percentage. They value a smooth experience and may avoid retailers with complicated return processes. Contribute to 29% of returns, a little under there total representation of 31% of shoppers.
• Serial Returners - Frequently over-orders with the intention of returning many items. Like the slow returners they are typically made up of the younger generation and have a high impact on your returners. Despite also being made up of just 11% of your returns, they will be responsible for a quarter of a typical retailers returns as they tend to frequently over-orders with the intention of returning many items and engage in other abusive and at times fraudulent ecommerce behaviours.

The session explored how retailers can optimise their returns experience to align with these distinct behaviours – improving customer satisfaction while reducing operational costs.

As returns continue to play a defining role in customer retention and profitability, ZigZag remains at the forefront – helping global retailers turn returns into a strategic advantage.

Book a demo to continue the conversation

If you are interested in hearing more returns insight or would like to have a ZigZag returns expert tailor those insights around the specifics of your business, get in touch with us today.

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