The True Cost of Returns: How Identity, Data, and Consumer Behavior Are Reshaping Retail

Retail returns have become an expected part of the shopping experience. What’s less visible is the growing cost behind them. As ecommerce and omnichannel retail expand, return abuse and refund fraud are no longer isolated operational problems. They are increasingly contributing to Total Retail Loss, quietly affecting margins while distorting customer data and behavior.

This webinar takes a closer look at returns through the lenses of identity, consumer psychology, and data intelligence. Generous policies, instant refunds, and frictionless digital interactions have shifted shopper expectations and lowered the barriers to abuse. Behavior once written off as “friendly fraud” is now widely normalized, often encouraged through social media and made easier by fragmented systems across online and in-store environments.

We’ll explore a critical shift in how retailers think about the problem: returns as identity-driven events. Knowing what was returned is only part of the story. Understanding who is returning — and how often, where, and why — reveals patterns that traditional fraud tools often miss. When return processes operate in silos, retailers lose visibility, inflate Total Retail Loss, and weaken their understanding of customers.

In this session, we discuss how forward-thinking retailers are bringing identity and behavioral intelligence into the return process to:

• Separate valuable customers from abusive behavior
• Protect margins without adding friction to the experience
• Align return policies and accountability across channels

Learn how return activity can become a source of customer insight helping retailers reduce loss, strengthen trust, improve personalization, and adapt as both consumer expectations and fraud tactics continue to evolve.