DHL Supply Chain started into 2025 with a push to establish itself as the largest provider of returns services in North America through the acquisition of Inmar Supply Chain Solutions for an undisclosed sum.

Taking over the reverse logistics specialist adds 14 return centres and 800 employees to the integrator’s footprint in this sector, which makes it the largest actor in this arena in North America.

In addition, it enables DHL to streamline its operations and broaden its scope of service options for returns. So far, its returns processing solutions included inspection, grading, refurbishment and disposal of products. Inmar is adding elements like recall management to help clients get a better handle on their reverse flows, product remarketing and advanced supply chain analytics.

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“This acquisition strengthens our existing capabilities, allowing us to offer our customers a single-source solution for their entire supply chain, including the critical and complex area of returns management,” said Patrick Kelleher, CEO of DHL Supply Chain North America.

Like ecommerce, the returns element keeps growing in leaps and bounds. The parcel tsunami unleashed by online shopping has brought in its wake a huge and growing wave of returns. According to one report, returns on Boxing Day in the U.S. were up 15% this past holiday from a year earlier.

For the whole past year, the National Retail Federation estimates returns in the U.S. to have soared to US$890 billion. Retailers reckon that nearly 17% of their sales in 2024 were returned, compared to an average of 13% between 2019 and 2022.

Loop, a returns operation platform, indicates that cosmetics and personal care items saw the steepest increase in Boxing Day returns, with a 36% jump over the volume registered a year earlier. Returns of apparel, which accounted for about half of all merchandise returns tracked by Loop, climbed 19% year on year.

A big factor in the prominence of apparel in returns is the “wardrobing” trend, where consumers order multiple items to try them at home, sometimes taking items in different sizes for the best fit to return unwanted products, essentially recreating the fitting room experience in their homes.

Besides such “friendly fraud,” an increase in criminally fraudulent returns has emerged as an additional headache for retailers, according to returns specialist Narvar.

The damage to retailers is substantial. A report by Appriss Retail in tandem with Deloitte found that 15.14% of last year’s online purchase returns were fraudulent – such as reporting empty boxes or missing items. Fraudulent returns inflicted losses of US$103 billion on retailers, Appris warned.

The problem is exacerbated by a seeming black hole at the delivery stage. A survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers published last year by HubBox found that over half of the orders arrived late, damaged or at the wrong address, with 15% delivered to the wrong address.

HubBox also found that porch piracy had developed into a serious problem, with 36% of respondents reporting at least one such case last year. Many of these occurred during peak shopping times like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday.

In response to the growing problems with returns, some sellers have narrowed the window for returns and some levy charges, but this is problematic. A survey of over 2,000 U.S. consumers found that more than 75% consider free returns a major factor in their shopping decision, with 46% reporting that they had abandoned a purchase because the vendor did not offer a convenient return option.

A more successful approach than returns charges appears to be using gift cards rather than refunds to mitigate the financial impact on merchants. This is viewed as a factor in why brands managed to retain 18.7% more revenue from returns last year.

On top of the financial hit and the time and resources spent on returns, the issue also weighs on companies’ sustainability records, and this is not just emissions associated with picking up rejected merchandise. Research by venture capital firm Equal Ventures found that more than 11% of apparel returns ended up in landfills.

In this respect, the acquisition of Inmar gives DHL another tool to help merchants.

According to the press release about the takeover, “Inmar’s technology-driven reverse logistics solutions are recognized across the industry for reducing cost and eliminating the waste generated from returned consumer goods.

Emphasis is placed on recommerce, which has diverted 99% of consumer returns from reaching a landfill; an approach that aligns with DHL’s commitment to make customers’ supply chains more sustainable.”

It also helps DHL on the way to its goal of decarbonizing its business by 2025.

By Ian Putzger

Correspondent | Toronto