An employee rings up a customer at the Macy's Inc. flagship store in New York.

A new reality for retailers includes temporarily shuttered storefronts and steep sales declines. Part of that equation includes a more complex issue: Handling shoppers' returns.

Macy's, Gap and other retailers are adjusting return windows to ease customers' worries about getting their money back, if they buy clothing and other items online as stores are dark.

Longer return windows add another level of complexity to how retailers are managing their businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Most are still unsure of when their shops will be able to safely open again. And some are operating their online businesses with reduced staffing — after having furloughed store and warehouse workers, as business dried up and states ordered nonessential retailers shut.

The challenges — such as trying to resell returned merchandise and simply finding enough workers to help process returns in distribution centers — could end up hurting department store chains and apparel retailers the most. Typically, about 17% of apparel is returned to retailers, making it one of the most-returned categories of goods, according to an analysis by 1010data.

Even before Covid-19 hit, consumers were buying fewer clothes. Now, shoppers are unlikely to be pondering buying a new dress, jacket or pair of shoes, with offices closed, parties canceled and vacations on hold. Many are spending afternoons at home in pajamas or similar loungewear.

Add that to the fact that the U.S. workforce has shrunk by 10% in three weeks, amid a wave of coronavirus-related furloughs and layoffs. Many shoppers will be cutting back on discretionary spending, at least for the foreseeable future.

The average apparel retailer saw a 13% drop in online sales from March 12 to March 25, compared with a baseline of sales from Feb. 1 to March 10, according to data from Adobe Analytics.

But as time drags on, that could change. Many apparel and accessories businesses, including Nike and Everlane, have been dangling deep discounts for new spring merchandise online, to try to make a sale. As the weather turns even warmer, some consumers could be itching for fresh, pastel-colored outfits to fill their closets.

"If anything, Covid-19 will accelerate the shift to e-commerce from physical retail," Happy Returns CEO David Sobie said. Happy Returns operates hundreds of drop-off kiosks across the country, partnering with brands such as shoemaker Rothy's and apparel retailer Revolve, to accept their returns there. Its locations are temporarily closed due to the virus.

"This shift will mean more returns, due to the limitations of shopping online and the way people shop, which often involves 'bracketing,' or buy to try, buying multiples of size, color ... with the intention of keeping their favorite and returning the rest," Sobie said. "With an increase in returns, retailers will need to focus on cost-effective solutions that are friction-free for shoppers."