Returns in online retail: how much goes back

Online purchases are returned roughly three times more often than in-store ones: about 20.8% of orders against 8.72%. But the headline figure isn’t the average — it’s the category spread, from roughly 4% in beauty to 40% in apparel.

Key figures

• Average online return rate — around 20.8% Industry return-rate estimates, 2026
• Online ≈24.5% against 8.72% in physical stores Industry return-rate estimates, 2026
• Apparel ≈20–40%, electronics ≈8–15%, beauty ≈4–12% Industry estimates by category, 2026
• US online retail return losses to exceed $247bn (+12% on 2024) National Retail Federation, 2026

How different is online from in-store?

By roughly three times. 2026 estimates give around 24.5% returns online against 8.72% for purchases in physical stores Industry return-rate estimates, 2026 , with the online market average sitting at approximately 20.8% Industry return-rate estimates, 2026 .

The cause is structural rather than behavioural: online doesn’t let anyone try, inspect or compare an item before paying. Part of the return volume isn’t a failure but a fitting room relocated to after the sale.

Why is the average nearly useless?

Because of category spread. Industry estimates put apparel returns at roughly 20–40%, electronics at 8–15% and beauty at 4–12% Industry estimates by category, 2026 .

The distance between the top and bottom is almost tenfold — larger than any difference between countries or store sizes. Comparing your rate with the overall average is meaningless; comparing it with your category’s norm is not.

What does it cost the market?

A great deal, and increasingly so. The National Retail Federation projects total return-related losses across US online retail to exceed $247 billion National Retail Federation, 2026 — roughly 12% above the $220 billion recorded in 2024 National Retail Federation, 2026 .

The growth doesn’t come only from sales volume: that sum includes reverse logistics, processing and markdowns on goods that can no longer be sold as new.

What follows for a seller?

The diagnostic metric isn’t the return rate but its deviation from your category norm, plus the reasons shoppers state. A clothing store at 25% is operating normally; an electronics store at the same rate has a problem in its descriptions or in the expectations it sets.

A second practical observation: most apparel returns relate to size, which means they’re solved before the sale with accurate measurements and charts rather than after it with logistics.

Where do these figures come from?

This report aggregates 2026 industry return-rate estimates and the National Retail Federation’s projection of aggregate US online retail losses. Estimates differ by sample composition — datasets heavier on apparel produce higher values — so ranges are given rather than single numbers. Category figures come from different sources and are not parts of one sample.