Amazon warns customers about frequently returned products: Reports

E-commerce giant Amazon is warning consumers about frequently returned products on its platform. Citing a report by The Information on Monday (March 27), The Verge said in a report on Tuesday that Amazon is rolling out a warning label on frequently returned products that will encourage consumers to check an item's details and reviews before buying, helping customers avoid misleading or low-quality products and reducing unnecessary returns.

The report added that having a visible warning that such items are usually returned not only deters customers from buying them but also could encourage retailers to be honest about their listings or improve on issues that lead to higher product returns in the first place. According to The Information, the returns warning has already appeared on few-third party listings fulfilled by the e-commerce giant.

To see the warning, users must be logged into their Amazon account.

At present, Amazon's return policy allows customers to return new and unused items up to 30 days after purchase- usually free of cost unless the item is deemed non-returnable. However, customers have had bad experiences while returning a product.

During the Covid pandemic, online retailers had reported a surge in return rates and returns remained above the pre-pandemic levels- which also resulted in higher costs for sellers facilitating storage and disposal.

Speaking to The Information, Amazon spokesperson Betsy Harden said that the company is showing return rate information on some product detail pages to help customers make more informed purchase decisions. The warning label comes days after Amazon made approximate sales for each product public on its website and app. According to the Marketplace Pulse on March 17, the e-commerce giant was testing a new product label that highlighted how many sales it had recently.