What: Inflation is hitting a 40-year high and retailers are concerned that the mounting costs squeezing margins, in combination with rising return rates will sour this holiday season.

Why it is important: Several surveys conducted by separate companies and organizations have revealed the consumer perceptions around returns and their increased likelihood to return gifts this year.

According to a survey by Phelps United, 52% of respondents said they expected to return at least one gift received via an online merchant, 47% said they expected to return at least three gifts, with nearly 1 in 5 (19%) saying they planned to return at least five gifts and 6% planning to return more than 10 gifts.

With returns being so ubiquitous, more than three-fourths (76%) of respondents said they scrutinize return policies, saying they would be more likely to shop at an online retailer in the future if it provided free shipping on returns (82%), a flexible window of 30 days or more for returns (58%), and a hassle-free or no-questions-asked return policy (52%).

The logistics company ParcelLab also reported that 62% of consumers stated that they are unlikely to shop again with a retailer or brand that had a poor/inconvenient returns process, with 37% saying returns that include shipping fees as part of the returns process might lead them to shop less.

In a separate survey conducted by PayPal, nearly 50% of consumers say they’ll be returning holiday gifts this year, with 86% of consumers saying they make a point to check a retailer’s return policy before they even make a purchase. Nearly 1 in 4 have been returning a greater percentage of their online purchases because of inflation and other economic pressures. This number skews even higher for those under the age of 45.

Higher inflation, a higher rate of returns?