Holiday sales feel great. Holiday returns don’t. The weeks after Black Friday through January generate a tidal wave of merchandise returns—and with it, a spike in excessive defectives, RTVs, price-variance disputes, OTIF-related claims, and post-audit deductions that quietly erode supplier margins.

Peak season doesn’t just raise parcel costs—it raises the odds of shortage deductions, OTIF chargebacks, and messy post-audit “proof of delivery” debates.