ALBUQUERUQE, NEW MEXICO – The holiday shopping season may be winding down, but retailers are gearing up for the busiest return period of the year. A new report from Shorr Packaging reveals that 40% of consumers plan to return a holiday gift in the coming weeks.
The study, based on a national survey of 2,000 U.S. shoppers and Google search trends, highlights some surprising habits:
Key Findings
- 40% of consumers plan to return a holiday gift this year
- 91% returned at least one item in 2025
- 69% kept an unwanted item because the return process was too frustrating
- 54% admit to regifting items
- 48% avoided returning a gift to avoid offending the giver
- Nearly 1 in 5 pretended to like or use a gift to avoid awkwardness
What Shoppers Want
- 86% say free return shipping is non-negotiable
- 75% prefer a full refund over store credit
- 40% feel guilty about returning items
- Nearly 1 in 4 don’t check return policies before buying
When it comes to how people return items, in-store returns lead at 36%, followed by third-party drop-off locations (32%) and mail-back returns (29%).
The report also ranked U.S. cities most interested in returns based on Google searches—Atlanta, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Minneapolis topped the list.
For the full dataset and insights, visit: Inside America’s Return Habits: The 2025-2026 Consumer Report.
