As Brits returned to work after the festive break, £1.51bn worth of unwanted gifts and goods have made their way back to retailers, according to home delivery specialist Parcelhero.

Data released by the firm found that post-Christmas returns surged by 6.8% on 2 January, compared to the same day in 2024.

Royal Mail also reported a 52% increase in returns compared to a typical day from the previous month.

This increase follows a notable rise in parcel shipments, with a 554.7% jump in returns on 2 January compared to Boxing Day, as people took advantage of the post-Christmas period to return unwanted gifts.

Parcelhero head of consumer research David Jinks said: “We’ve looked at our own returns volumes and spoken to people in the courier and retail industries and it looks like there was a notable peak in returns yesterday compared to the small but distinct drop in the volume and value of returns last year.

“We’re estimating around 1.51 billion pounds of clothing, electrical goods and toys are now on their way back to retailers.

“There are conflicting figures as to how successful this Christmas was for retailers. It seems the anticipated last-minute boom in high street footfall failed to materialise but online sales figures for Black Friday and beyond are expected to be robust.

“Certainly, if the number of returns in the parcels system at the moment reflects the amount we bought, people were splashing the cash before Christmas. That said, it’s possible we were all just really bad at choosing gifts this year.”

With the surge of returns continuing into 2025, last year Which? revealed that over half of the biggest online fashion retailers do not offer free postal returns.

The consumer choice firm looked at the returns policies of the 20 biggest online fashion retailers, including Asos, Boohoo and Amazon and found that 12 do not offer free postal returns.

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