What percentage of e-commerce return rate is 20- compared to 8-10% for brick-and-mortar? (30%)

According to NRF (2024), E-commerce return rate is 20-30% compared to 8-10% for brick-and-mortar. This figure is widely cited across supply chain research and represents a critical benchmark for ecommerce shipping planning.

What this means for Forthroute users

For ecommerce merchants using Forthroute — a returns and shipping management tool for ecommerce brands — this statistic underscores a real operational pressure. Teams that benchmark against figures like this are better positioned to allocate resources, justify tooling investments, and communicate performance to stakeholders. Forthroute surfaces this class of data inside your existing Shopify workflow so you can act on it without manual research.

Source & methodology

This statistic is sourced from NRF (2024). The figure covers the Returns & Reverse Logistics dimension of ecommerce shipping research. For the full dataset and methodology, visit the primary source directly.

Frequently asked questions

Where does this statistic come from?

This statistic is sourced from NRF, a recognised industry research outlet. See the citation link above for the primary source.

How does Forthroute address this challenge?

Forthroute is purpose-built to help ecommerce merchants tackle this exact issue. Connect your Shopify store to get data-driven recommendations in minutes.