While efforts by retailers to reduce customer theft (Appelbaum
et al., 2006) and staff pilfering (McClurg and Butler, 2006)
may have been both needed and partially-successful, the
concentration on theft has led to other forms of customer
misbehavior being comparatively ignored. Harris a (2010)
suggested that retailers are underestimating the prevalence
and the frequency of fraudulent returning. Indeed, discussions
with managers indicate that very limited data on this problem
is required or requested by senior management. As such, it
seems that fraudulent returning (especially by staff members)
is a hidden or ignored drain on the firm’s resources. While
firms need to balance the accepted benefits of liberal returns
policies with the costs of fraudulent returns, the evidence of
this study suggests that the current balance may weigh too
heavily on the side of fraudulent returners. In this regard,
retailers should not only be data-gathering to ascertain the
costs of such fraud but also should be initiating programs
designed to minimize the occurrence of fraudulent returns.
The development of databases of customers who return
goods, designed to monitor levels of returning may prove a
useful deterrent, particularly if retailers use such databases for
contacting serial returners after a certain number of returns
have been made. Such a process would constitute not only
a useful deterrent but also a good source of customer data.
Given that consumers’ knowledge of return policies appears
linked to fraudulent returning, managers should also consider
improving communications regarding the punishments or
sanctions of such acts. Similarly, managers might wish to
review their policies regarding the staffing of returns desks,
the length of shifts and the opening hours.