REPORT

The ecommerce returns opportunity

Improving experience, conversion and retention


Your shoppers read the returns policy before they pay. Do you know what they look for?

  • Which return charges shoppers accept, and which send them to another retailer

  • How many would take an exchange instead of a refund

  • What a poor return costs you on the next order

Based on an IMRG and nShift survey of 1,000 UK consumers in April 2026, with practical guidance from nShift on what to change in your own returns journey.

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85.6%

of UK shoppers say the returns policy matters when deciding whether to buy online(IMRG for nShift, 2026)

66.1%

would likely accept an exchange offered at the point of return instead of a refund(IMRG for nShift, 2026)

42.3%

would be much less inclined to shop with a retailer again after a poor return(IMRG for nShift, 2026)

26.3%

actively avoid retailers that charge for returns(IMRG for nShift, 2026)

What's inside the report

The Ecommerce Returns Opportunity report by IMRG and nShift, shown on a tablet
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Where shoppers draw the line on return charges: the situations that make a fee feel fair, and the share who avoid retailers that charge

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The return reasons shoppers give, and how honestly they give them, so each fix reaches the right team

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How quickly a return should start, and what shoppers expect next when a return is denied

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Demand for in-store returns among online shoppers, and how a store visit can keep the sale

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Practical guidance from nShift on exchanges, return rules and putting return data to work

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15% shift to in-store returns

for Hunkemöller after it replaced printed return labels with a fully digital returns flow across its European markets, creating more moments for assisted service and repurchase. 

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Put the findings to work in your returns journey

The report pairs the consumer data with nShift's guidance on what to change. Here's a preview of what you'll find.
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Show the policy before checkout
Shoppers check the return window, refund timing and any charge before they buy. Put those answers where the decision happens.
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Offer the exchange first
When fit is the reason, the customer often still wants the product. Ask whether the purchase can be solved before you refund it.
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Charge where it feels fair
Keep faulty items free, and use rules for frequent returners, cross-border orders or sale items so any fee fits the situation.
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Bring returns into the store
An in-store return lets your team fix the problem face to face, suggest an alternative and keep the sale.
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Read every return reason
Fit, damage and description mismatches point to different teams. Route each signal to the people who can fix it.
IMRG, the UK's ecommerce association

ABOUT THE RESEARCH PARTNER

IMRG

The UK's ecommerce association, and nShift's partner on this report

IMRG has measured UK online retail since 2000. Retailers and the companies that serve them use its indexes and benchmarks to compare performance across more than 120 metrics, from online sales to delivery.

For this report, IMRG and nShift surveyed 1,000 UK consumers aged 18 and over in April 2026 about returns policies, charges, exchanges, in-store returns and feedback. nShift added guidance on what the findings mean for your returns operation, drawing on work with retailers such as Hunkemöller and Quiz.

Read the full data and the guidance together in the report.

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