Venture Firms See $212-B Gain From Online Returns

Americans returned about $212 billion worth of online merchandise last year — clothes, electronics, sporting goods and more that was often liquidated for pennies on the dollar or simply tossed into landfills, Lucy Papachristou and Spencer Soper reported for Bloomberg News.

Photo Insert: A host of startups with names like Loop Returns and Two Boxes have emerged promising to help retailers make the returns process more efficient — and even profitable.

Despite the massive waste and losses, retailers have long seen returns as a cost of doing business. However, entrepreneurs see these returns as a business opportunity and want to harvest the inventory, recast them, and sell them.

It is like saying profits are lovelier the second time around.

Now, with companies looking to cut expenses as the pandemic-era shopping boom fizzles out, a host of startups with names like Loop Returns and Two Boxes have emerged promising to help retailers make the returns process more efficient — and even profitable.

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