美国国家公共电台 NPR Online Shoppers Say They Rarely Return Purchases. Why?

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Now for a story most of us can probably relate to. You buy something online, and then you change your mind. So what to do - keep it, regift, send it back? Well, Americans had interesting things to say about their return habits in a new NPR/Marist Poll, so interesting that some of the responses surprised our retail¹ reporter Alina Selyukh.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE²: When you follow retail, you hear a lot about returns - that online shopping produces a ton of them.

LARISA SUMMERS: It was $385 billion worth in one year last year.

SELYUKH: That's 385...

SUMMERS: Billion dollars, with a B, returned inventory³.

SELYUKH: Larisa Summers works for a company called up Optoro which is built around returns, helping⁴ retailers⁵ repurpose or resell the stuff people send back.

SUMMERS: In some categories, 20 to 30 percent of goods get returned.

SELYUKH: I went to Summers for a professional reality check because I'm trying to make sense of some fascinating results from the new NPR/Marist poll. Ninety-one percent of American online shoppers told us they rarely or never return things they buy online. And my immediate⁶ thought was, where are these people who never return things?

PAT NOVAK: My name is Pat Novak, and I live north of Grand Rapids, Mich.

SELYUKH: Novak rarely returns things for this straightforward⁷ reason.

NOVAK: I don't enjoy shopping. It's not my favorite thing to do.

SELYUKH: Not her favorite thing to do. Novak likes finding exactly the right thing before buying it so she doesn't have to shop again. Katie Burns from San Francisco has another reason why people don't return things.

KATIE BURNS: I do have a basket in my apartment of things that I fully⁸ intend to return that have been there for more than a year, probably, that I have not gotten around to.

SELYUKH: And now she's missed the return window for most of them. In our survey, a majority of online shoppers say they have indeed kept purchases they'd meant to return mainly to avoid the hassle. Now, another number in the polls surprised me the most. It has to do with how I personally shop, which is buy bunch of sweaters in different sizes, return what doesn't fit. Almost everyone - 94 percent of online shoppers - told us they rarely or never make a purchase expecting to return part of it. Am I really in such a tiny minority?

STACEY STEINER: That surprises me.

SELYUKH: Hey, there are two of us, me and Stacey Steiner from Jacksonville, Fla.

STEINER: I'll go every once in a while, save up money, and then I'll just do a huge batch⁹ order.

SELYUKH: Recently she wanted new dresses for her birthday.

STEINER: So I think I bought, like, 13 dresses or something.

SELYUKH: Oh, wow.

STEINER: And I was able to try them on. And I picked three that I kept.

SELYUKH: And guess who else shops like Steiner and I - director of the Marist Poll, Barbara Carvalho.

BARBARA CARVALHO: I agree. The expectation was that we were going to see a very large proportion of people that return things.

SELYUKH: But remember; we had 91 percent say they hardly ever returned things. My theory - asking about the frequency of returns was like calling people and saying, do you floss every day? But Carvalho says the poll accounts for this by suggesting a range of answers instead of a yes or no. And more importantly, I lost sight of the other side, the 9 percent of online shoppers who admit to making returns often or very often.

CARVALHO: It actually translates into almost 16 million adults in the U.S.

SELYUKH: A small percentage of shoppers giving retailers big headaches with costly¹⁰ returns. But sometimes the retailers have themselves to blame. Remember Novak from Michigan who doesn't like shopping? Last year, her husband ordered a small fuel tank for a camp stove but instead received a 5-foot-tall cooler.

NOVAK: If I could return it, I would return the stupid cooler. They won't take it back.

SELYUKH: She says the company only allows returns for warranty¹¹ or defects, not wrong shipments. So now that's another reason why Novak does not return things. Alina Selyukh, NPR News.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 warranty   

n.担保书，证书，保单

参考例句：

• This warranty is good for one year after the date of the purchase of the product.本保证书自购置此产品之日起有效期为一年。
• As your guarantor,we have signed a warranty to the bank.作为你们的担保人，我们已经向银行开出了担保书。