Approximately half of Belgians said they would change their online shopping behaviour if they had to pay €5 to return orders, according to a study.
The study was commissioned by the Federal Minister of Economy and Consumers, Nathalie Muylle. "We all think climate awareness is important, but we return packages en masse," she said, reports Het Nieuwsblad.
She visited the distribution centre of shoe store Torfs in Temse on Wednesday, after its CEO, Wouter Torfs, had made statements about the high number of returns in e-commerce. "E-commerce now accounts for 17% of turnover for us, but we also have to think about the societal cost," said Torfs, reports VRT.
Muylle commissioned research into the online purchasing behaviour of Belgians, which showed that 66% of Belgians make online purchases. Six out of ten of them do so at least once a month.
Returning packages free of charge is currently free of charge for the client, but costs about €5 for the sender. If that cost would be passed on to the clients, 46% indicated that they would give up the purchase.
At €1, 14% of buyers would think twice, and at €10, the number rises to 74%.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
