Millions of Australians are too lazy to return unwanted online purchases, according to new research by comparison website Finder.

A survey of 1049 respondents revealed more than one in three (35 per cent) – the equivalent of 7.3 million people – have failed to return a purchase that didn’t meet their needs.

Almost one in five (18 per cent) admit returning the item seemed like too much work, while one in 10 (11 per cent) didn’t want to pay for postage.

The research found 8 per cent simply forgot to return the unwanted goods.

A further 6 per cent said the return period had expired, and the same amount (6 per cent) planned to resell the item to recoup some of the lost funds.

Rebecca Pike, money expert at Finder, said: “We often buy things that don’t fit, are the wrong colour, or we don’t actually need.

“But the incentive of getting an exchange or refund isn’t enough to motivate us to return it, leading to eye-watering wastage.”

The average Australian failed to return $590 worth of unwanted items in the past year – a staggering $4.3 billion nationwide.

Women (41 per cent) were more likely than men (27 per cent) to admit they failed to return an unwanted online item, and consequently carried a higher financial burden from these purchases, with an average of $683 in unwanted items compared to men ($446).

Pike recommended contacting the company you purchased the unwanted product or service from as soon as possible.

“It’s important to make sure you keep your receipt for situations like these. However, if you’ve lost your receipt, all hope of a refund isn’t lost.,” she said. “Many companies have order histories or can verify purchases through your account information.”

According to the ACCC, consumers have the right to return a product if they think there’s a problem.

The product does not have to be in its original packaging, but a business is entitled to ask consumers to provide some form of proof of purchase, such as a receipt.

Consumers are responsible for returning products that can be posted or easily returned, but businesses are responsible for paying for the shipping costs or collecting faulty products that are large, heavy or hard to remove, such as TVs, beds and large appliances.