Send-back Saturday will see influx of returned items

Friday, December 11, 2015 - 10:02 by Graham Miller

With the massive sales seen over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend at the end of November, the Post Office has identified a new trend which is set to result in a larger number of parcels being handled by its infrastructure this Saturday.

'Send-back Saturday' is a phenomenon that has been given a name which reflects the growing number of items which have already been purchased online and are, subsequently, returned by customers for any number of reasons.

Over sixty per cent of people are expected to return at least one item by post this weekend, whether as a result of an issue with the product or it not meeting expectations in some way. And the Post Office is having to hire in additional help to make sure that it can handle the sheer number of packages which are being sent back during the already busy Christmas period.

Post Office spokesperson, Pete Markey, explained that the festive season of 2015 was going to be record-breaking in terms of the number of returns that his organisation will have to handle. And this is a reflection of the kinds of trends which are emerging amongst consumers, as a result of the rise of safe shopping online.

People not only return faulty or incorrect items, but often order products with the intention of trying them out before sending them back if they do not like them. This is especially true in the world of fashion, where consumers often buy multiple versions of a garment in different sizes to try them on at home, returning those which do not fit.

Thousands of Post Office outlets will be opening on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend because of the expected surge which follows on from Black Friday’s national shopping spree.