I LIKE IT. NO I HATE IT. IT FITS, NO IT DOESN’T FIT. I’M RETURNING IT! The Buzz 1: Retailers expect 17.8% or $158Bn of merchandise sold during the 2022 holiday season will be returned, according to the National Retail Federation. Returns have become a major headache in ecommerce, cutting into profit and straining resources. [www.digitalcommerce360.com] The Buzz 2: 37% of American households' financial situation is worse than last year. But consumers will cut non-essentials to give gifts and socialize. They plan to pull back on the number of gifts purchased, visit fewer instore and online retailers, shrink the shopping window to 5.8 weeks vs. 6.4 weeks in 2021, and start shopping in October. [www2.deloitte.com] The Buzz 3: Customers during the 2022 holiday shopping season are looking for brands that can provide personalized, convenient solutions…and having an experience around the product versus just purchasing the product. [www.forbes.com] We’ll ask Matt Laukaitis, Navjit Bhasin, Praful Karanth and Victoria Wieck for their take on The Future of Retail and Technology: How Many Happy Returns? – Part 2.