Reverse Logistics Programs Are No Longer Optional For Retailers Entering Peak Season, Says SVT
Businesses that skip returns planning before high-volume periods are not just leaving money on the table. They are actively losing it.
HAMPTON, NH, July 14, 2026 -- Most businesses plan peak season backwards.
They spend months optimizing the outbound side of the operation. Carrier negotiations, fulfillment speed, inventory positioning, labor forecasting. All of it pointed in one direction: getting orders out the door. And that work matters. But here is what gets left out of almost every peak season planning conversation. What happens when those orders come back?
Because they will. A lot of them.
SVT Supply Chain Solutions (SVT) is making the case that reverse logistics planning deserves a seat at the peak season table, not as a line item to revisit in January when the damage is already done, but as a core operational priority that gets built and staffed before Black Friday, back-to-school, and the holiday rush arrive.
The numbers support that argument. U.S. retailers processed over $890 billion in merchandise returns in a recent year, and a significant portion of that value was never recovered. Not because it could not be. Because the process was not there to capture it. During peak season, when return volumes spike alongside sales volumes, that gap does not hold steady. It widens.
Returns Do Not Arrive on a Convenient Schedule
They come in waves, right on the heels of the busiest outbound periods of the year. Back-to-school drives returns in apparel, electronics, and supplies. Black Friday and Cyber Monday generate some of the highest return rates on the retail calendar. Then comes January, historically one of the most return-heavy months of the year, when every gift that did not land right comes back through the door at once.
"The businesses that struggle most after peak season are not always the ones that had fulfillment problems on the way out," said Lauren Steil, Director of Business Development at SVT. "More often, it is the ones that had no real plan for what came back. Returns volume arrives all at once, and if your operation is not built to absorb that, the financial impact shows up fast, and it sticks around."
When returned inventory sits unprocessed, it loses resale value every single day. Products that needed minor refurbishment to return to full price become write-offs because no one had the bandwidth to evaluate them during the crunch. Warehouse space gridlocks. Customer service queues fill with status requests from shoppers who have no visibility into where their return stands. For B2B operators, high return volumes create disputed credits and incomplete documentation that strain key account relationships well into the first quarter.
The Customer Experience Side of This Cannot Be Overlooked
A return is not just a logistical event. It is a customer interaction, and often the last one before a buyer decides whether they will purchase from you again. Research consistently shows that a positive returns experience is one of the strongest predictors of repeat purchase behavior. During peak season, when customers are making emotionally loaded gifting and deal-seeking purchases, the stakes of a poor returns experience are higher than at any other point in the year.
What the Businesses That Get This Right Are Actually Doing
They are building and stress-testing their reverse logistics infrastructure months before peak season arrives. Intake procedures are defined before volume spikes. Disposition logic is established by product category. Staffing plans are aligned to projected return curves. Reporting systems provide real-time visibility into what is coming back, why, and what is being done with it.
That level of readiness is difficult to build internally on a timeline that peak season demands. A third-party logistics partner with purpose-built returns capabilities removes that barrier entirely, providing immediate access to proven workflows, trained staff, and integrated technology rather than the months it would take to develop those capabilities from scratch.
"Peak season is not the time to figure out your returns process," added Lauren. "It is the time to execute one. The businesses making that investment now are going to be the ones recovering more margin, retaining more customers, and walking into the new year without a returns backlog hanging over them."
The value is there to be recovered. The only variable is whether the process exists to capture it before peak season makes that decision for you.
For more information on reverse logistics programs, visit www.svtsupplychain.com or contact lsteil@svtsupplychain.com.
About SVT Supply Chain Solutions
SVT is a supply chain services provider offering end-to-end third-party logistics including, warehousing, fulfillment, and reverse logistics solutions for B2B and B2C operations. With purpose-built returns infrastructure and a commitment to measurable outcomes, SVT helps businesses recover value, reduce operational drag, and build supply chain programs that perform when the pressure is highest.
# # #
Contact Information
Jacob LacroixSVT Supply Chain Solutions
Hampton, NH
USA
Voice: (207) 251-3932
Website: Visit Our Website
Disclaimer