Returns in 2026: What You Need to Know About Regulations, Costs and Automation? A Complete Guide for E-Commerce

Returns in e-commerce are entering a new phase — they are becoming not so much an operational process as a decision-making layer that influences sales, pricing and risk management. Although the average return rate stands at around 3.5%, as many as 30% of companies in Poland are unable to measure it, and the unit cost (most often PLN 10–15) accumulates outside the main P&L. It is worth bearing in mind that the upcoming 2026 regulations will enforce full digitalisation of the process, closing the era of “manual” returns. In this guide, we show how to move from reactive handling to a model in which returns genuinely support the growth and competitive advantage of your e-commerce.

Why Returns Are the New Decision-Making System in E-Commerce

In 2026, returns are shifting to the level of business steering — they become one of the data sources used to optimise the offer, margin and risk. On their basis, companies identify product defects, adjust their assortment and correct customers’ purchasing decisions even before the next transaction. As a result, returns stop being the end of the process and start playing the role of a mechanism that shapes sales in subsequent iterations. Your e-commerce advantage today therefore stems not from the mere “ease of return”, but from how quickly and effectively the company can turn it into data and business decisions.

2026 Regulations: The Moment of Enforced Transformation of Returns

New regulations coming into force on 19 June 2026 introduce the obligation to provide customers with the ability to submit a withdrawal from a contract directly within the store interface. In practice, this means moving the moment of return initiation to the digital channel — not as an option, but as a legal requirement. This is a significant change, because for the first time regulation directly interferes with the UX and architecture of e-commerce systems, enforcing standardisation of the first step in the returns process.

Is the Market Ready for the Changes?

The problem is that the market is not ready for this change. Alsendo’s report “Returns in Polish E-Commerce 2026” shows that 57% of companies are hearing about the new regulations for the first time. Among businesses aware of the changes, as many as 43% have taken no implementation steps, and only a fraction declares readiness or has a concrete implementation plan.

Digital Returns End-to-End – What Do the Regulations Really Enforce?

In practice, the new regulations force the construction of a fully digital, coherent returns process that begins directly in the store and ends in the company’s operational systems. It is no longer about individual improvements, but about rebuilding the entire flow. In practice, this means three changes:

• Digital initiation of the return – the customer initiates the process independently in the store (form, panel, self-service),
• System integration – connecting e-commerce, ERP, WMS and logistics operators into a single process,
• Process automation – statuses, decisions and refunds handled without manual intervention.

Where Does Cost and Margin Really Come From?

Returns in Polish e-commerce have a relatively low scale, but a very real impact on financial results. The average return rate is around 3.5%, yet as many as 1/3 of companies are unable to determine it. This reveals a fundamental problem: returns are operationally present but are often not managed at the data level.

Cost of Returns: Low Per Unit, High Systemically

The most commonly declared cost of a single return is PLN 10–15, and in the case of 77% of companies it falls within the range of PLN 7–30. The problem is that this cost is dispersed — covering logistics, warehousing, quality control and administrative handling — which means it tends to be underestimated. As a result, returns are not perceived as a single cost, but as many “small costs” that accumulate in the background of operations.

Two Main Sources of Losses in the Returns Process

The biggest challenges indicated by companies are customer abuse (51%) and costs (45%), followed closely by systemic and operational problems. This shows that the scale of returns itself is not the problem — the problem is handling them in conditions of incomplete control and integration.

Where Are You Losing Money, and Where Can You Get It Back?

Returns in practice are primarily an operational problem — more precisely: a problem of logistics architecture and system integration.

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What types of returns do companies offer?

• 64% of companies – courier
• 56% of companies – parcel lockers
• 36.7% of companies – PUDO points

This means that an effective returns process cannot exist without a well-designed logistics layer and its integration with sales systems. As Michał Wójcik, Enterprise & Partnership Director at Alsendo, emphasises: “The efficiency of the entire process depends not only on the online store itself, but also on the quality of integration with logistics partners.”

Why Don’t Returns Still Work as a Single System?

Despite the growing scale of e-commerce, many companies still operate on partially integrated returns models. Only some organisations offer customers a coherent process (e.g. label + shipment tracking + automatic refund), while in many cases the return is still “manual” and dispersed across systems. This limits scalability and makes it difficult to control costs and customer experience.

How Do Returns Affect the Financial Result of E-Commerce?

From an operational point of view, the most important question is not “will the customer return the product”, but what the company will do with that product next. The report shows that:

• 55% of products return to sale as full-value items,
• 16% end up in an outlet or discounted sale,
• the rest are returns to suppliers, disposal, or marginal actions such as recycling.

This means that returns are in practice a value-recovery management process, and its efficiency directly affects the margin.

Cross-Border: The Biggest Untapped Lever in Trade

The biggest operational gap concerns international returns. As many as 66% of companies handle them exclusively via return to Poland at the customer’s expense, with no local facilitation. At the same time, only around 18.6% allow returns at local points abroad. This shows that for most companies cross-border is still an operationally immature area, despite having a huge impact on conversion and customer trust in foreign markets.

How Does Return Policy Influence Purchasing Decisions?

Return policy in 2026 is also a tool for steering demand and customer behaviour. Data shows that the market is divided: 46% of companies pass the return cost to the customer, 33% offer free returns, and some use conditional models. There is no single dominant approach.

Cost vs. Conversion? How Stores Really Make Decisions Today

Companies today face a choice between better customer experience vs. rising operational costs. On one hand, free and simple returns lower the purchase barrier and increase willingness to buy; on the other, they generate real financial burdens. This process is no longer black-and-white, however. The most advanced organisations:

• differentiate their return policy (e.g. per channel, category, customer),
• treat it as an element of pricing and the offer,
• optimise it based on data (not the “market standard”).

How Do Returns Affect Customer Purchasing Decisions?

The report clearly indicates that return policy has a direct impact on sales and basket value. As Arkadiusz Kawa (Poznań University of Economics) notes: “The ease of return increases customers’ willingness to make higher-value purchases, builds trust and increases loyalty.”

This means that returns act as a mechanism for reducing purchasing risk — the easier the return, the greater the customer’s readiness to make a decision.

Technology and Automation of Returns: What Determines Efficiency Today?

Technology in the area of returns is ceasing to play a support role — it is becoming the operational core of the process that determines its scalability and costs. The report shows that companies most commonly use basic solutions such as automated notifications (83%) and integrations with courier companies (56%). At the same time, more advanced elements, such as dedicated returns management platforms or full system integration, are still not standard.

Automation: The Biggest Untapped Potential

In practice, this means that many companies operate in a “semi-manual” model — part of the process is automated, but key decisions and operations still require manual work. Meanwhile, full automation covers:

• acceptance of the return
• decision on the further fate of the product
• automatic refund and communication with the customer

Lack of automation not only increases costs, but also limits speed of action and the quality of the customer experience.

Return Data: An Untapped Source of Competitive Advantage

Returns provide information about:

• product quality,
• errors in the offer (e.g. descriptions, photos),
• customer behaviour and potential abuse.

Today, however, only a small fraction of companies use this data in an advanced way. This is an area that in the coming years will define competitive advantage — especially in the context of AI and prediction.

Not Measuring Returns = Not Controlling Costs

The biggest problem in returns management is not their scale, but the lack of measurement. The report shows that as many as 1/3 of companies cannot determine the level of returns in their business. This means that many organisations operate without the basic indicator that directly affects costs, margin and customer experience. In practice, returns are handled operationally but are not managed as a business process.

Key KPIs: What Really Needs to Be Measured?

Companies that achieve maturity in returns management treat them as a set of measurable indicators, not a single process.

• return rate – share of returns in sales
• cost per return – real unit cost
• refund time – time for money to be returned
• recovery rate – % of products returned to sale
• abuse rate – level of abuse

These are the metrics that allow the transition from reactive management to conscious optimisation.

How Quickly You Return Money Affects How the Customer Rates Your Store

The report shows large discrepancies in refund time: 49% of companies process refunds within a maximum of 5 days, but as many as 40% need at least 11 days. This is one of the most underrated indicators — despite the fact that it directly affects customer satisfaction and their propensity for repeat purchases. In practice, refund time is starting to play a similar role to delivery time a few years ago.

How Do Returns Affect Competitive Advantage?

Returns in 2026 are becoming a consciously designed element of competitive advantage. Companies see that the ease and predictability of a return affects not only customer satisfaction, but directly sales, basket value and retention. As the report shows, the market is increasingly clearly recognising this change: returns are ceasing to be a reaction to a problem and are beginning to be an element of building business value.

Returns as an Investment in LTV, Not an Operational Cost

The most mature organisations treat returns as an investment in a long-term relationship with the customer. As Paulina Haramus, Team Leader Customer Support at Apilo, points out: “Today’s consumers are highly aware, and their ultimate decision to finalise a shopping basket is often directly conditioned by the transparency and simplicity of the return mechanism.” This approach shifts the focus from short-term cost optimisation to maximising customer value.

Easy Return Is the Standard – Quality Is What Makes the Difference

In a mature market, the mere possibility of a return stops being a differentiator — it becomes a standard. The advantage is built elsewhere:

• in the speed of refund,
• in the predictability of the process,
• in transparent communication,
• in the consistency of the return experience with the entire purchasing process.

These are the elements that determine whether a return strengthens the relationship with the customer or weakens it.

Returns as an Indicator of Organisational Maturity

The way returns are managed is today becoming one of the best indicators of e-commerce maturity. Companies can be divided into several levels:

• reactive – handle returns operationally, without data,
• controlled – measure basic KPIs,
• automated – integrate systems and processes,
• strategic – use returns to optimise the business.

Why Must Returns Work as One System?

In 2026, returns are becoming a complete, integrated architecture that connects the customer layer, operations and data in one coherent process. This follows directly from the growing complexity of the process and new regulatory requirements. As the report shows, the effectiveness of returns today depends not on a single tool, but on the coherence of the entire technological and logistics ecosystem.

From Submission to Business Decision

The target returns model covers three layers:

• customer layer – return initiation, statuses and communication,
• returns management layer – process logic, decisions and automation,
• operational layer (ERP / WMS / logistics) – warehouse, financial and transport operations.

The key point is that a return does not end when the parcel is accepted — it ends only when a business decision is made: what to do with the product, how to price it, and how it will affect stock and margin.

Integration as a Condition for Scaling

The report clearly states that without integration there is no effective returns process — especially in the context of logistics and shipment handling. In practice, this means the need to connect:

• the e-commerce platform,
• warehouse management systems (WMS),
• financial systems (ERP),
• logistics operators.

Lack of integration leads to manual work, errors and limited data visibility — which directly increases the operational cost of returns.

E-Commerce Roadmap for 2026+

Returns in e-commerce are entering a phase where they can no longer be merely “handled” — they must be actively managed as one of the key areas of business. Lack of measurement, fragmented automation and low readiness for regulations are today’s market standard. At the same time, the pressure (cost-related, technological and regulatory) will only grow. This is why returns require a systemic approach — with an implementation roadmap, not individual improvements.

What Can You Do Right Now in Your E-Commerce?

Level 1: Quick improvements (0–3 months)

• implementation of basic KPIs (return rate, cost per return, refund time),
• shortening the refund time (quick win for CX),
• simplifying the process for the customer (clear entry point).

Goal: regain control over the process and its visibility.

Level 2: Operational optimisation (3–9 months)

• automation of key stages (submission, statuses, refund),
• streamlining returns logistics (OOH, courier, labels),
• conscious design of return policy (cost vs. conversion).

Goal: cost reduction and improvement of customer experience.

Level 3: Scaling and advantage (9–18 months)

• system integration (e-commerce, ERP, WMS, logistics),
• using returns data for business decisions,
• development of predictive models and automation (AI).

Goal: transforming returns into a source of competitive advantage.

Download the free report: Returns in Polish E-Commerce 2026

Anna Sztyk