The Problem With Online Shopping

Online sales are booming! Americans spent a record $1 trillion on internet purchases last year. That total was about $200 billion higher than in 2020, which also set a record, according to industry data.

The trend is a big win for online businesses, but it comes with a hidden cost. People are much more likely to return items that they buy online than products that they get in stores. And many of those items get thrown away. Nearly 6 billion tons of returned goods end up in landfills each year. 

In 2021, Americans sent back about 20 percent of their internet purchases. It will take centuries—or longer—for the millions of discarded toys, sports gear, electronics, and other products to decompose. And some will release dangerous chemicals in the process.

Americans can’t afford to turn a blind eye to the environmental effects of online returns, experts say—especially since internet shopping is projected to keep growing. Here’s what you need to know to be part of the solution. 

Since internet shoppers can’t physically examine products before they purchase them, they’re more likely to end up with clothes that don’t fit or items that otherwise don’t suit their needs. On average, people are three times more likely to return what they buy online than what they purchase in stores, says Hitendra Chaturvedi, a supply chain management expert at Arizona State University.

Retailers also encourage such behavior, experts say. Many sites offer free returns to lure customers away from competitors. Some internet businesses push people to order clothing in multiple sizes and styles by promising that they’ll only have to pay for what they keep.

It all comes down to money. Preparing returned products for resale often costs more than the items are worth—especially after companies refund customers’ original payments.

To do so, businesses must first ship products to sorting facilities, often at their own expense. There, they pay workers to examine each item to evaluate whether it can be sold again, says Gad Allon, a professor of operations, information, and decisions at the University of Pennsylvania. 

If a T-shirt costs only $12 to start with, for example, paying for it to go through that process may not make financial sense.

In some cases, giant retailers such as Target have begun telling customers to keep their unwanted items. New businesses have also popped up to help improve the return process. 

Customers need to step up too, Allon points out. If you want to make a difference, consider returning items at a company’s store, where he says they’re more likely to go back on a shelf, rather than mailing them to its warehouse. Or give unwanted items to a friend or relative who could use them, or donate them to charity. 

Also, think carefully before hitting “purchase” to increase the odds that you’ll actually want to keep what you buy. “Everything boils down to us as consumers at the end,” Allon says.