Even swearing will get you banned! Return rate soars during peak season, Amazon Black Friday sales remain a mystery?

As of this week, some platforms in the United States have ended their Black Friday Cyber Monday promotions and have announced their sales results. However, looking at the situation of this year's Black Friday Cyber Monday, the promotions held under the shadow of the epidemic and strikes did not meet expectations.

It is learned that according to Adobe data, total online spending in the United States on Black Friday was US$8.9 billion, slightly lower than US$9 billion in 2020 and significantly lower than Adobe's expected range.

Meanwhile, total online spending on Cyber Monday in the U.S. this year reached $10.7 billion, down $100 million from last year (down 1.4% year-over-year).

It can be seen that total online shopping spending in the United States has declined slightly on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So what is the situation for Amazon this year?

As Black Friday ends, how is Amazon doing?

It is learned that Amazon recently issued a press release stating that Amazon achieved record sales on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but did not disclose the specific sales of the two festivals. In addition, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, more than half of Amazon's sales came from third-party sellers, most of which are small and medium-sized enterprises.

Although Amazon did not release specific sales data during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, it emphasized the high-quality services and large discounts it provided to sellers during the promotion.

Amazon said it has won consumers' favor with its huge market, next-day delivery service and competitive prices, with its average price being 14% cheaper than its competitors.

According to Numerator data, Amazon has accounted for the highest share of US Black Friday spending in 2021 for two consecutive years, or 17.5%, surpassing all retailers. This shows that Amazon's performance in Black Friday this year is still outstanding.

However, many sellers are still wondering why the sales data of third-party sellers during the holiday season is not made public this year?

It is understood that during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, only a few sellers achieved significant growth or a surge in orders, while most sellers had a mediocre response or only a small increase, which was almost the same as the order volume on weekdays, and did not feel the blessing of the festival.

Weibo blogger @风中厂长 said that most sellers around him were not doing well on Amazon Black Friday, with many saying their sales were about the same as usual. Another friend said he was ready to have a big order, but ended up with zero orders. He didn't expect Black Friday to be so cold.

▲ The picture comes from Weibo

Based on the currently available information, Amazon’s Black Friday performance this year should be good, but whether this result meets market expectations and the extent of the growth remains an unsolved mystery.

However, it is certain that for the majority of sellers, this year's peak season is indeed not as hot as usual. Not only do they have to face the problem of rising costs, but they also have to suffer from Amazon's return policy.

The return rate soars during the peak season, and sellers are suffering!

According to a survey, the return rate of online shopping in the United States is expected to increase to 25% during this peak season, and the cost of merchants will also increase accordingly. In addition, a collective return action by consumers abroad has also caused headaches for sellers.

It is reported that foreign buyers often purchase multiple sizes or colors of the same product at a time, keep their favorites after receiving the goods, and then return the rest to the merchant.

In addition, there are consumers who apply for returns after buying and receiving clothing, wearing it once on an important occasion. It is learned that this phenomenon is very common abroad. In the survey, 58% of the respondents said that they have this kind of online shopping behavior.

For sellers, this means they will face higher return rates, cargo losses and shipping costs. The report pointed out that during the return process, each return may cost $10 to $20 , not including shipping costs.

Buyers always have a variety of reasons for returns, and Amazon's return policy also invisibly increases the risk of sellers incurring return compensation.

One seller said that there was an order of self-shipping that was clearly delivered to the recipient and the recipient personally signed for acceptance. However, the buyer refused to acknowledge receipt of the goods and filed a claim, so Amazon directly refunded the buyer.