Christmas Gift Returns Total $46 Billion - Clothes, Games Most Returned
Christmas has come and gone, presents have been opened and now consumers are flooding stores once again – only this time people are returning presents.
KRem.com has reported that about 10 percent of Christmas gifts will be returned, equaling around $46 billion in sales going back to stores. A MarketTools poll conducted this year found that the most returned presents included: clothing, games, and electronics.
The breakdown by percentage is as follows.
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• Clothing and shoes, 62%
• Toys, games and hobbies, 16%
• Consumer electronics, 14%
• Kitchen and bath, 13%
• Beauty and cosmetics, 10%
• Jewelry and watches, 10%
However Consumer Reports found that 15 percent will re-gift the unwanted item, while 18 percent will donate the present to a good cause. Meanwhile, 6 percent would try to resell it and 11 percent would opt to dispose of the present.
Holiday shoppers this season preferred seeing “Merry Christmas” signs to ones reading “Happy Holidays.” A recent Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 70 percent of American adults prefer retailers to use “Merry Christmas” signs. While just 24 percent of those polled would rather see “Happy Holidays.”
According to the survey, many adults across almost all demographic groups preferred “Merry Christmas,” with young adults feeling as strong as older adults. The poll showed that men have slightly stronger feelings in regards to seeing “Merry Christmas” than women.
The Rasmussen report found that 61 percent of black adults wanted to see “Merry Christmas,” and 75 percent of white adults agreed. Meanwhile, 49 percent of all other races would also prefer “Merry Christmas.” Only 40 percent of those surveyed would rather see “Happy Holidays.”
The Rasmussen Reports survey, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC, polled 1,000 adults nationwide Nov. 20-21. The report has a 95 percent level of confidence, with a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points.
