Blankets have consistently been a high-demand product in the US home textile market, serving both warmth and décor, and are an integral part of American consumers' lives almost year-round. For cross-border sellers, blankets offer stable sales and a good average order value, making them a common and advantageous category for independent online stores. However, handling returns for blankets is both difficult and costly, especially given the strong return policy among US consumers and high logistics costs. Therefore, managing returns has become a crucial aspect that sellers must plan ahead for.
US Blanket Demand Continues to Grow, with Online Channels Contributing Significantly
According to a report by Fortune Business Insights, the US blanket market was worth approximately $3.34 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $4.77 billion by 2032, representing a CAGR of 4.17%. Driven by winter demand, evolving home aesthetics, and the expansion of outdoor leisure activities, blanket consumption in the US has maintained steady growth.
Looking at the broader home textile market, Grand View Research points out that the US home textile industry is experiencing continuous growth alongside increasing e-commerce penetration. Blankets and other fabric products, due to their fixed specifications and diverse styles, are particularly active in online sales. This is beneficial for Chinese cross-border sellers: the independent website model allows them to highlight design style, material segmentation, and brand identity, thus competing with American domestic brands. However, the larger the online sales volume, the greater the pressure from returns.
Blanket returns are not uncommon, but the processing costs are often underestimated.
While blankets are not the category with the highest return rate, according to OpenSend data, the overall e-commerce return rate in the US is approximately 20%–30%. The reasons for blanket returns have distinct characteristics:
Differences in touch and thickness: If the softness or thickness differs from the buyer's expectations, returns are very likely.
Color differences: Blanket colors are greatly affected by lighting during photography, and differences between the actual product and the image easily lead to returns.
Shipping damage: Blankets are relatively large, and packaging damage often results in creases, flattening, and deformation of the outer box.
Seasonal peak returns: Returns surge after winter promotions.
The most critical issue is: returning blankets to China is not cost-effective.
International shipping costs are high, return cycles are long, and customs clearance costs are unpredictable. Furthermore, returned blankets often require extensive sorting, quality inspection, and repackaging, potentially causing sellers to miss the peak sales season.
Therefore, more and more sellers are choosing to establish local return processing facilities in the US, transforming returned goods into resaleable or clearance inventory rather than incurring direct losses.
Blankets are a highly recoverable category of home textiles, and professional processing can significantly increase their chances of being restocked. Therefore, the professionalism of return warehouses is particularly crucial for blanket sellers. U-Speed's US return warehouses, with their dual-warehouse layout and professional team, provide a more practical solution for blanket products.
U-Speed US return warehouse: East Coast + West Coast Dual Warehouses for Efficient and Reliable Return Processing
U-Speed has large return warehouses in New Jersey and Los Angeles, each with an area of 7250 square meters, processing over 20,000 and 10,000+ blankets daily respectively, capable of handling the peak demand for blanket returns during the fall and winter season. The warehouse is equipped with forklifts, light and heavy-duty shelving, a fire protection system, 24-hour security, and CCTV surveillance, providing a stable and safe environment for the handling of large textile products.
Furthermore, U-Speed's operations team is comprised of a local Chinese team in the US, while a Chinese management team oversees the processes. This collaboration between the two sides ensures that steps such as quality inspection, photography, warehousing, and repackaging are more meticulous and transparent. Blankets, which are prone to creases, flattening, or minor stains, often only require simple repairs to return to a saleable condition.
U-Speed's comprehensive quality inspection, simple cleaning, and packaging repair services perfectly address the core pain points of blanket sellers. Combined with a 2-day quality inspection time and a 3-5 day return logistics processing speed, returned goods can almost immediately re-enter the sales chain, significantly improving inventory turnover efficiency.
A closed-loop logistics system makes inventory management easier: One-stop connection for first-leg shipping, warehousing, dropshipping, and returns
U-Speed in the US not only handles returns but also covers first-leg transportation, warehousing, and dropshipping, achieving integrated management of forward and reverse logistics. Returned blankets undergo quality inspection and sorting within the same system before being directly stored in overseas warehouses; new products can also be shipped from the same warehouse. For blanket sellers reliant on seasonal sales rhythms, this closed-loop logistics system significantly shortens replenishment and restocking cycles, making inventory management faster and more flexible.
If you are expanding into the US home textile market, especially for medium to large-sized textile items like blankets, it's advisable to plan ahead for local US return channels. Utilizing return warehouses like U-Speed, with their processing capabilities and complete supply chain, transforms "returns" into "reselling opportunities," which is often more crucial than simply controlling return rates. Improving inventory turnover efficiency through professional return processing has become a core strategy for many established sellers to maintain profit margins.
