The trends that will reshape shopper returns in 2026
As retailers finish working through the surge in January returns to bring the festive peak to a close, Alexandra Romantseva from ReBound and Advanced Supply Chain by Reconomy, looks at how reverse logistics will evolve in 2026
Returns take centre stage in January. Sales data from the Golden Quarter is being finalised, and a clearer picture of shopper purchasing and operational performance during peak starts to emerge. This triggers scrutiny of returns policies and practices, and it’s around this time of the year when we’re at our busiest, fielding new enquiries and making new connections with retailers and brands.
Improving returns dominates peak-season reviews and conversations about what the year ahead holds. What will influence the development of returns management? How can retailers and brands ensure their returns strategies keep pace in the competitive world of e-commerce? What do they need to do differently to optimise the financial value and product lifecycle of products sent back by shoppers?
Answers to these questions – and more – will be influenced by the growing importance of marketplaces, sustainability and recommerce, with these factors driving four key trends in returns management and processing in 2026.
1) Making returns customer centric
Supply chain professionals (22%) ranked improvements in customer service as their top returns priority for 2026. Goals include making returns faster (19%), reducing the costs of returns for shoppers (17%) and shortening lead times for customer refunds (16%).
2) Streamlining salvaging
Retailers and brands want to increase the salvage rates (19%) of goods being sent back. A third of businesses (33%) plan to outsource returns processing to help optimise repair and restoration process in 2026, as they aim to boost sustainability and compliance, and develop recommerce models.
18% referenced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes as a key driver for optimising returns processing and strengthening salvage rates, while 27% are prioritising recommerce as part of their 2026 returns strategies. 32% are focusing on improving the rerouting of ‘beyond-repair’ returns to recycling.
Clearly defined salvage rates and robust quality inspections, backed up by returns management software that enables connectivity and enriches supply chain data, can minimise waste and errors. This is why there’s such a strong focus on salvaging.
3) Localising returns
The growing success of marketplace retail models is making international growth accessible and affordable for a wide range of brands. Attention is now switching to localising returns management to manage costs and reduce supply chain mileage. 35% of supply chain professionals have made local returns consolidation a top-ranking priority for this year. 18% are actively focusing on improving the returns management of goods sent back via marketplaces, with 16% keen to enhance the visibility of customer returns.
4) Monetising returns
2026 will see the continued trend of retailers and brands prioritising the productivity and profitability of returns processing and management. 18% are adapting strategies to generate more revenue from returns, with emphasis on duty drawback from cross-border returns (20%), decreasing back-to-stock time (16%) and reducing losses caused by returns fraud (14%).
Optimising returns, developing on-trend solutions
Growing consumer preferences for marketplaces, recommerce and sustainability can increase the complexities of goods being sent back by shoppers. There’s a risk of reverse logistics processes becoming longer and more fragmented, and this occurring at a time when legislation and consumers increasingly require supply chains to be more resourceful. Businesses are embracing this as an opportunity to rethink returns strategies.
Emphasis is being placed on treating returns as a strategic driver for supporting sales, customer satisfaction, sustainable practices and cost management. Sophisticated tech is enabling this and it’s why, for example, we see around a third of professionals (31%) prioritising portals for e-commerce returns, and technical capabilities ranking highly during the outsourcing of returns.
The trends that will reshape shopper returns in 2026
To learn more about the trends reshaping returns and for solutions to optimise returns management and processing, contact Advanced Supply Chain and ReBound by Reconomy.
About the statistics referenced in this article. Censuswide carried out online surveys of 901 senior supply chain decisions makers working throughout the e-commerce sectors in the UK, USA, Italy, France, Germany and Spain. Research was completed in October 2025 on behalf of Advanced Supply Chain and ReBound by Reconomy.
