Consumers are returning lots of electronics products, and it’s costing the U.S. consumer electronics industry a bundle, says a study by Accenture.

According to the management consulting firm, product returns cost U.S. consumer electronics retailers and manufacturers nearly $17 billion this year, an increase of 21% since 2007.

Included in the $17 billion are costs associated with “receiving, assessing, repairing, reboxing, restocking and reselling returned products,” Accenture reports. Product return rates over the past three to five years have increased for 57% of the retailers and 43% of the manufacturers surveyed by Accenture.

If there’s any positive news for the industry, it’s that just 5% of returns are related to actual product defects, Accenture says. Indeed, 27% of returns reflect “buyer’s remorse” and 68% of returns are characterized as “No Trouble Found.” Accenture calculates that just a 1% reduction in the number of “No Trouble Found” cases could save a typical large manufacturer about $21 million in return and repair costs or $16 million for an average consumer electronics retailer.

“These high consumer electronics return rates are unsustainable in a sector with brutal competition and thin margins,” said Mitch Cline, managing direction of Accenture’s Electronics & High-Tech group in a press release. “Manufacturers and retailers would do more to differentiate their customer service by helping consumers understand, set up, use and optimize the products they purchase.”

Along those lines, Accenture recommends that companies attack the problem by measuring the impact of returns, developing customer product-education classes, offering delivery and set-up services for consumers, creating simpler product designs, investing in customer service, and providing multiple service options.

By Edward C. Baig, USA Today