Blue Yonder is taking into account all sorts of things to try to help retailers with the returns conundrum. For instance, it has found that basket size has a correlation to return rate (the bigger the basket, the greater the likelihood of returns), and it is modeling factors such as how frequently someone makes a purchase and whether the item is something other people see (i.e., shoppers are more finicky about the fit of a cocktail dress than the fit of pajamas). It shouldn't be particularly surprising that these attributes offer insights about return propensity, but technology is making it possible for retailers to digest that information in a more methodical way and do something about it, tailored for different categories and geographic markets.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 26, 2018 23:20 UTC