SIRAS: PCs Are Returned More Quickly Than Other Categories

By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 10/18/2010

REDMOND, WASH. — When consumers want to return newly purchased PCs and laptops, they come back to retailers quickly.

That’s what the latest aging return data from SIRAS — more than 94 percent of attempted returns take place within 30 days of the original purchase.

The analysis, based on data for 12 months ending in June 2010, also shows that 95 percent of those return attempts, or 89 percent overall, are made within 15 days of purchase.

According to SIRAS, a provider of point-of-sale product registration services to retailers and manufacturers, PCs have the highest 15-day attempted return rate of any electronics product category tracked by SIRAS technology.

Peter Junger, president of SIRAS, said the return rates are a direct result of retailers’ firm enforcement of 15-day return policies on PC sales, and consumers’ uncertainty about holding on to products which can seem confusing to use.

“Fifteen percent of all return attempts are made on the very day of purchase,” he said. “That means a lot people are taking the computer home, and with barely turning in on, making a decision that it’s not the right product for them. On the bright side, once a computer is out of the store 30 days, it’s very unlikely the retailer will ever see it at the returns counter. Once people start using them, they stick with them and the products last,” Junger said.

Computer monitors and peripherals also have a 30-day rate of attempted return that is higher than most other electronics product categories, with just more than 85 percent of return attempts being made within 30 days of purchase. The typical rate is closer to about 80 percent, said Junger. “It could be a sign that consumers are not buying the right products or are having problems using them once they get home.”