Marketplace Morning Report
Marketplace Morning Report

Rise of the return fee

December 26, 2025

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

  • The Format: This fast-paced news roundup from Marketplace Morning Report delivers bite-sized economic updates on consumer trends and market shifts, blending reporter dispatches with host narration in a brisk, journalistic flow that feels urgently informative and snapshot-driven.
  • The Format: A structured news broadcast featuring host-led segments and reporter contributions.
  • The Key Players:
    • Nova Safo (Host): Delivers the morning report with smooth transitions, tying together diverse economic stories from retail woes to market booms.
    • Reporters: Henry Epp on returns (consumer expert insights), Reema Crace on boycotts (street-level human angles via her podcast This is Uncomfortable), Sue Pazi (research analyst at Human Rights Research Center) on tech politics—each adding sharp, specialized analysis.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:54) **Holiday Gift Returns and Rising Retailer Fees**
  • 2 (02:24) **Record Spot Prices for Precious Metals**
  • 3 (02:42) **Psychological Impact of Consumer Boycotts on Shoppers**
  • 4 (07:13) **Tech Industry Leaders Courting Trump Administration**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Now that Christmas presents are unwrapped, many of you — you know who you are — will head to stores to return gifts and get what you actually want. But increasingly, retailers are charging for those returns. Then, a couple of months ago, more than 5 million shoppers embraced a boycott of three major retailers: Amazon, Home Depot, and Target. From "This Is Uncomfortable," we'll learn about the impact it had on shoppers.

Marketplace Morning Report