Almost two thirds of British consumers (63%) admit to sometimes ending up keeping unwanted items on account of companies making the returns process too difficult, according to new research by YouGov RealTime.
This experience is particularly apparent among younger Britons (aged 18-24) where eight in ten (80%) say they sometimes keep unwanted items because of the difficulty in returning them, compared to just over half (53%) of those aged 55+.
Women (68%) in Briton are significantly more likely than men (59%) to say that they sometimes keep unwanted items because of the returns process.
Britons overall are significantly more likely to have done this than those in neighbouring European countries such as Germany (40%), Italy (46%), Spain (46%), or France (53%). But, the proportion of Brits who do this (63%) is comparable to other global markets such as the US (61% who say this), Canada (65%), China (67%), and Australia (71%).
Thinking about why this might be the case, two thirds of Britons (65%) believe that companies deliberately make it difficult to complain or return things. Just one in eleven (9%) think that this is not the case. Interestingly, in this case there is little difference between age groups, with similar proportions of 18-24-year-olds (62%) and those aged 55+ (65%) saying this.
Britons as a whole are also more likely than those in most global markets to believe that companies deliberately make complaints and returns difficult. The proportion who say this in countries such as Germany (42%), China (47%), United States (51%), and Italy (52%) is significantly lower than in the UK.
Despite this, a similar proportion in France (60%), Australia (61%), and Spain (66%) also believe that companies deliberately make it difficult for consumers to complain or return unwanted items.
