Welcome to the world of retail returns, an expensive, cumbersome – yet essential – part of the industry. The number of returns is growing and managing them is critically important to maintaining margins and customer satisfaction. Consider these facts: total returns amounted to $743 billion in merchandise in 2023 and …

Editor’s Note: As 2024 comes to an end, we’re highlighting some of our most-read content of the year. We look forward to continuing to deliver original, thought-provoking stories like this one to our readers in 2025. JCPenney has faced the same challenges that bedevil the entire department store vertical, ranging …