Almost 500 million items were returned by German consumers last year. Total cost: more than five billion euros.
One in six delivered parcels is returned in Germany, economists from Bavaria's Bämberg University calculated. In 2018, 280 million parcels were returned. These included 487 million items. The total cost is estimated at more than five billion euros. These costs are partly reflected in market prices, but mainly burden the margins of online retailers.
A return costs an average of 19.51 euros, according to researchers. Half of that goes on transport. 79 per cent of items are sold as new, 13 per cent go over the counter as 'second-hand' items and 3 per cent are sold to recycling companies or donated to charities. 4 per cent of returned items end up in the rubbish bin.
The high number of returns puts pressure not only on margins but also on the climate. In 2018, emissions from return transport would be equivalent to 2,200 daily car journeys from Hamburg to Moscow.
