Just 15% of shoppers return products excessively, but they account for almost 60% of the CO2 emissions tied to e-commerce returns, according to a Vrije Universiteit Brussel study of nearly 10,000 consumers across 10 European countries. These serial returners do not buy more than other shoppers but treat returns as a way to put off decisions, ordering impulsively and deciding what to keep only once it arrives, and people drawn to easy, fast, and free returns are about three times more likely to return often. Each frequent returner emits roughly 20 kg of CO2 a year from returns, against about 3 kg for everyone else, and the study argues the fix lies less in guilt than in better product information, virtual fitting rooms, size guides, and clearer cross-border e-commerce rules.
