Sending It Back: Reverse Logistics and the U.S. Postal Service

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ecommerce grew from 9.7 percent of total retail sales in 2018 to about 14.5 percent from 2020 to 2022. Returns grew during and after the pandemic as well: by 2023, the National Retail Federation estimated 17.6 percent of online purchases in the U.S. by revenue were returned to retailers. Reverse logistics refers to the movement of goods from the consumer to their place of manufacture, sale, or disposal. Returned items may be resold as new, refurbished to be sold on the secondary market, recycled, or disposed of in a landfill.