Why brands are prepping new return policies for Q4

Supply Chain Shakeup // September 7, 2026 Why brands are prepping new return policies for Q4 By Melissa Daniels Ivy Liu Below is the latest edition of Modern Retail’s Supply Chain Weekly newsletter, which goes out on Mondays at 10 a. m. ET, and dives into all things logistics and supply chain during a tumultuous time for the retail industry.

To receive this weekly in your inbox, click here. The surge in e-commerce and retail spending in the fourth quarter is typically followed by a surge in returns. But for many brands, it’s prime time to change up their typical return policies.

A joint survey by Happy Returns and the National Retail Federation in 2025 found that retailers expect about 17% of their holiday sales to get returned. Joe Vancena, vp of marketing at Loop, said he’s seeing more brands institute temporary return policies to fit with the demands of the holiday season.

A standard 30-day return window, for instance, isn’t necessarily long enough to accommodate the holiday season and associated travel. And gift givers may want to ensure that they’re only purchasing from places where someone doesn’t have to pay anything to make an exchange.

The right policy can make or break customer acquisition and retention: Loop’s latest survey data shows about 58% of consumers say they have walked away from a brand over its return policy, while 92% of consumers say return fees change how they shop.

“We know that the majority of customers will either not shop with you at all or abandon a purchase if they don’t like your return policy. And so I’m always recommending brands, at least during this time period, is that you need to have a flexible policy, whether that means free returns and free exchanges, whether that means a longer return window,” he said.

But making those changes may require a process — and making a case to other team members that it’s the right time for a change like free returns and exchanges that could look costly on paper. But Vacena said the long-term benefits outweigh the costs — whether that’s higher conversion rates, more first-time customers or more top-line revenue throughout Q4.

“All of those will dramatically outweigh a smaller percentage of those customers who need to return,” he said. One way brands are testing whether a return policy will help win over these shoppers is through advertising messaging as early as August.

“In your sea of 150, 200 ads that you have in the market right now, turn on one additional ad and test the performance of an ad with free returns copy in it. Do you see any signs of life that that ad is going to get more clicks than the rest of your portfolio? If so, there’s your sign,” he said.

Vancena also said brands will test returns policy language by adding it to their product description pages right near the add to cart button. Brands “almost unanimously” see these tests lead to more sales, which helps strengthen the case for making the changes.

Beyond making returns more flexible, Vancena said some brands also use returns as a touchpoint to drive more sales. Someone who is exchanging a size is already engaging with the brand website, and Vancena said more brands are looking to upsell that customer on related items without any new acquisition costs.

New customers, for instance, may get offered a discount for adding items to their exchange. In the case of beauty brand Jones Road, the brand was able to derive an extra $197,000 in new revenue from customers who kept shopping mid-return, according to Loop data, while retaining $3. 1 million in sales by offering exchanges.

“This is where the best brands in the world are getting really advanced at that stage — this upsell during the exchange,” he said. The week in tariffs New Canadian retaliatory tariffs are set to kick in on September 8, the latest chapter in President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war. Canada implemented the tariffs in response to the U. S.

putting up to 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of products. The new Canadian tariffs will range from 15-50% on over 700 American goods, aiming to match the U. S. tariffs dollar for dollar. Affected categories include steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics — those that are most impacted by U. S. tariffs.

It’s unclear what effect the tariffs will end up having on domestic production, given the significant trade relationship that the U. S. and Canada have had in the past.

“With fresh trade barriers now threatening one of North America’s primary supply chains, the scope for productivity to absorb another shock — and cushion an already fragile global economy — could be tested,” read a recent World Economic Forum publication. What we’ve covered Quince’s first-ever sample sale sold out 6 hours early E-commerce behemoth Quince i