Thrifle Reports

Original data on how U.S. retail really works

We dig into the parts of shopping that nobody publishes clearly — return policies, pricing, and discounts — and turn what we find into editor-verified reports. Free to read, cite, and embed.

Consumer Research

The 2026 State of U.S. Return Policies

We verified the return policies of 200 operating U.S. retailers — windows, restocking fees, return shipping, holiday extensions — and graded every one from A+ to D−.

200 retailers · 54% give exactly 30 days · only 7 still offer lifetime returns

June 11, 2026 · Read the report →

What we’re working on next

The real “original price” — how often a retailer’s crossed-out price is the price it actually charged
Best month to buy, by category — twelve months of tracked price history
The holiday price-history truth report — what discounts really do in Q4

New reports land here as we finish them. Writing about retail and want early access to the data? Get in touch.