With Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the rear view, the festive shopping season is truly underway. But new research from DHL eCommerce UK has found that over half of UK consumers have received an unwanted gift, totalling £83.40 per person on average each year.
The research, which surveyed 2,000 UK consumers, revealed that unwanted gifts include clothing and novelty items, as well as unwanted household gadgets and white goods.
But what happens to these unwanted gifts? According to the survey results, over a third re-gift them, while 25% return them. Of this 25%, 11% return gifts to stores, while 7% return them online and a further 7% return them to the sender.
The demographic most likely to return unwanted gifts was found to be 25-34 year-olds, with almost one in six returning in-store and one in 10 returning online.
Gemma Marshall, service point development manager at DHL eCommerce UK, said: “Many of us have had that feeling of disappointment when you open a gift on Christmas morning and it is just not what you were expecting.
“As peak shopping season gets underway, we will inevitably see many consumers wanting to recoup the value of unwanted items by either returning or passing them on.
“To help deliver consumer satisfaction during this key shopping season, retailers and logistics carriers can support by offering as much flexibility as possible – from extended returns windows to flexible returns and delivery options, such as the use of home or locker collections.”
READ MORE: One in three UK shoppers will return Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases, data suggests
