Is the era of “endless returns” ending? It’s possible, per ReturnPro.
The returns management provider’s latest survey said stateside shoppers (and retailers) are staying not-so-cool while Trump‘s tit-for-tat tariffs ping pong on Wall Street (and the global market).
At the same time, U.S. consumers considered the aftermath of affluenza for the company’s 2025 survey report. This consideration considered recent “macroeconomic pressures” (wide-lens, not-super-negotiable trends) colliding with “micro-level dynamics” (what consumers expect, regardless of reality). The two trends get so entangled, ReturnPro said, a “striking convergence” emerges.
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“The result is a growing disconnect between what consumers expect and what retailers can sustainably offer,” read the report, titled “The State of Consumer Returns.”
To underline that disconnect: the lion’s share of respondents (about 84 percent) expressed concerns that tariffs will raise prices. If they did, 80 percent said they would shift their spending behaviors in response.
“At present, consumers are overwhelmingly concerned that tariffs will raise overall prices, while also increasing the cost of returning items,” ReturnPro said, indicating the country’s current climate feels like mid-September 2008.
ReturnPro enlisted web platform Pollfish to conduct the national, online survey in early March with results released earlier today as “onerous reciprocal tariffs” exhaust public (and private) market morale.
The software solutions supplier, formerly known as GoTRG, was researching mapping returns and returns behavior nationwide and tapped the Prodege-owned Pollfish to randomly select 500 stateside consumers “against relevant qualifiers.” To further “ensure credibility and relevance,” the Walmart partner said, a “meticulous participant vetting process” was “implemented to contextualize its findings.”
Gen Z and Millennials accounted for just over a quarter of respondents (5.2 and 20.2 percent, respectively), while Gen X inched over its successors at 28.4 percent. Two hundred sixteen of the 500 survey respondents (43.2 percent) identified as a Baby Boomer. The Silent Generation made up 3 percent.
Remember the aforementioned growing disparity between shoppers and sellers? ReturnPro found that, despite the “outsized influence” returns have on operations, consumers “remain unaware of their true impact.” The survey saw 29 percent respond they believe that returns are free for retailers. Nearly half allegedly believe that “brands break-even on returned items,” per the report.
“As imposed tariffs make it more expensive and complex to import foreign-made goods, retailers and consumers will increasingly turn to secondary markets to find value,” Sender Shamiss, co-founder and CEO of ReturnPro, said. “Returns will play a bigger role than ever in the product lifecycle, creating a surge in demand for recommerce, refurbishment and domestic resale. For companies in returns management, this shift is both a challenge and a massive opportunity.”
“Consumers increasingly expect flexible, tech-enabled, hassle-free returns, yet remain largely unaware of the operational and environmental toll these expectations take,” ReturnPro said. “Meanwhile, and implement smarter, leaner systems powered by AI.”
