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The inefficiencies of Christmas.
圣誕節的低效性。
'Tis the season to be jolly - and to feign delight at disappointing Christmas presents.
這是一個充滿歡樂，還要在收到令人失望的圣誕禮物時假裝高興的節日季節。
The average British adult splurged around ￡550 ($667) on gifts in 2021, according to one survey.
根據一項調查，2021年，英國成年人在禮物上的平均花費約為550英鎊（即667美元）。
But a back-of-the-envelope calculation by Ian Stewart of Deloitte, a consultancy, suggests that the volumes of unwanted stuff in effect destroyed around ￡3bn of the ￡25bn value.
但德勤咨詢公司的伊恩·斯圖爾特做出的粗略計算表明，250億英鎊的禮物中約30億英鎊都是無用的東西。
Though many see Christmas as a time of generosity and cheer, others see waste.
盡管許多人認為圣誕節是慷慨送禮，營造幸福氛圍的日子，但也有人認為圣誕節送禮就是一種浪費。
A small number study its inefficiencies.
有一小部分人研究了它的低效性。
In 1993 Joel Waldfogel of the University of Minnesota identified a "deadweight loss" when he studied the difference between the cost of seasonal gifts and how much their recipients valued them after they had accounted for exchanges and put sentimental value aside.
1993年，明尼蘇達大學的喬·沃德弗格研究了季節性禮物的價格，禮物接受者在交換禮物，并將禮物的情感價值擱置在一旁后對它的重視程度，以及兩者之間的差異，并在研究中發現了一種“無謂的損失”。
Today he says that on average cash spent on another person yields around 85% of the benefit of cash they spend on themselves.
沃德弗格表示，如今平均而言，人們花在別人身上的現金產生的收益約占他們花在自己身上的現金產生收益的85%。
Although gift-giving may make some people happy, it's "a lousy way to allocate resources," he says.
他說，雖然送禮可能會讓一些人感到高興，但這是“一種糟糕的資源配置方式”。
There are ways to reduce Christmas losses.
有一些方法可以減少圣誕節出現的經濟損失。
One is the use of gift cards, which give recipients some choice.
一是使用禮品卡，讓禮物接受者自己選擇禮物。
But Britons don't seem to like them much.
但英國人似乎不太喜歡這種方式。
A survey of adults from Ipsos, a pollster, found that 43% of Americans, 40% of the French and only 29% of Britons were planning to give them for Christmas 2022.
民調機構益普索集團對成年人進行的一項調查發現，43%的美國人、40%的法國人和僅僅29%的英國人計劃在2022年圣誕節送禮品卡。
Making it easier to return unwanted gifts should help.
二是簡化退貨流程，讓人們能夠輕松退回不想要的禮物。
Al Gerrie, chief executive officer of ZigZag, a returns platform, says that when a gift message or gift wrap is used in fashion retail (that is, for a present) return rates tend to be considerably higher.
退貨服務平臺Zigzag的首席執行官阿爾·格里表示，時尚零售（即禮物）中，有禮品贈言或禮品包裝的，退貨率往往會高很多。
As e-commerce has expanded, so too have ways of sending stuff back.
隨著電商的發展，退貨的方式也在不斷變化。
But returns are a headache for retailers.
但退貨問題很讓零售商頭疼。
On average it costs between ￡5 and ￡10 to put a product back on the shelves, says Mr. Gerrie, thanks to the shipping, inspecting and repackaging required.
格里表示，由于需要運輸、檢驗和重新包裝，將一款退貨產品重新上架的平均成本在5英鎊到10英鎊之間。
(In January, Father Christmas's elves must conduct "sniff tests" to see if a garment has been worn.)
（在一月份，圣誕老人的精靈們必須進行“嗅覺測試”，檢查衣服是不是全新的。）
Increasingly, retailers are charging shoppers to return goods.
越來越多零售商對購物者退貨收取費用。
ZigZag's data suggest the number of paid-for returns has more than doubled since last year, while the number of free returns has fallen.
Zigzag的數據顯示，自去年以來，付費退貨的數量增加超過一倍，而免費退貨的數量有所下降。
That, though, may mean more consumers are stuck with unwanted gifts.
然而，這可能意味著有越來越多的消費者無法擺脫無用的禮物。
