Background: IKEA, the Swedish furniture giant, has been serving up flat-packs, Swedish meatballs, and a side of Fika since 1943. And while it's long been known for testing relationships with tricky assembly, it's also built a reputation for something else: a super generous 365-day return policy.  

What happened: Now, IKEA is assembling a much stricter returns policy. The retailer has cut the return window for opened items from 365 days down to just 60 days for Australian and New Zealand customers. And if items are damaged, stained, or modified... they're no longer eligible for return at all.  

What else: With inflation rising and logistics costs climbing, IKEA is dialling back its generosity to protect margins. Which means that half-built desk sitting in the corner might not make it past the returns counter anymore.

What's the key learning?

💡 As customer behaviour shifts, policies that once helped IKEA win over customers, are now costing them. So, while generous return policies build customer trust, they've become way too expensive to maintain.

💡 Instead of absorbing this cost, retailers like IKEA are tightening up their policies to stop returns eating into profitability. And they're not alone - the number of retailers offering free returns dropped from 49% to just 14% between 2018 and 2025.

💡But retailers are walking a tricky balance... 65% of Australian shoppers still expect friction-free returns. So, brands need to cut costs without cutting customer satisfaction.