by Leann Zotis

Created on: September 23, 2009   Last Updated: December 06, 2009

"Can I help the next person in line?" the sales clerk calls out after handing her persent customer his receipt and wishing him a good day.

"I'd like to return this, please."

"Of course," Sandy* says, smiling back at the customer on the other side of the register. "Was there some problem with fit, color or size?" Sandy doesn't really want to pry into the motivation for the return, but store management insists she document any reason for merchandise coming back into the store. "Do you have your receipt?"

"No, it was a Christmas gift. I do have a gift voucher for the return. I just want to return this and pick something else."

With the holiday season approaching once again, this scenario will be played out over and over in stores everywhere. More and more, retail stores are coming to understand and accept that consumers and recipients of gifts purchased in their stores may have a change of heart about a purchase. Gift vouchers make the return process easier without immediately revealing the sell price of an item when someone first unwraps a gift.

Sandy, like most veteran retail sales people, is well versed in her store's return policy-any item accompanied by a dated sales receipt or gift voucher will be accepted back up to six months after the purchase for the full dollar value. In the month following Christmas, Sandy can expect to see a lot of gift vouchers and sales receipts being presented at her register. According to Opinion Research, 22% of holiday gift recipients can be expected to make at least one return or exchange this holiday season.

Some of the reasons for gift returns are obvious and understandable: wrong size, shocking color or the recipient already has two of the same item at home in a drawer top the list for legitimate returns. By far, the most common reason for gift returns, and the recipient may or may not be willing to admit to this, is the plain fact that the taste of the giver and the taste of the recipient are often eons apart.

Topping the list of most often returned gift items are movies, video games and music. Small wonder. Just because the giver is a classical music buff doesn't mean the recipient will want to add a Rachmaninoff concerto to his hard rock CD collection. For most people, the movies they wish to add to their personal collections are just that, personal. No one else can determine what movie will be a treasured keep-sake to be pulled out from time to time when the spirit motivates. As for video games, well, tastes and fads

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