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In my textbook is the following.

> あの店のパンはとてもおいしいとか。今日、帰りに買って帰ります。

From what I understand, 「帰りに買う」 means "to buy on the way back (home)".

However, this seems to already imply that you are heading back afterwards. The
sentence appears perhaps a bit awkward to me.

Is there anything lost if one removes the last portion and says the following
instead?

> あの店のパンはとてもおいしいとか。今日、帰りに買います。

Additionally, would a native speaker generally include the ending 「帰ります」, and
if so, in what situations?
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2015-10-01T05:35:54.940
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2015-10-01T13:41:10.300
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meaning usage nuances
Seemingly redundant 帰る in 「今日、帰りに買って帰ります」
Yes, as you say, it's redundant. However, if you focus on how you return home,
you will say it.
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2015-10-01T13:23:05.840
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From my experience, at work you often hear 「もう帰った」 for a situation when
someone left work, but that does not mean someone has already reached his
home. So the sentence could mean something like「仕事から帰る途中でパンを買って、家に帰ります」, but
first 帰る and second 帰る would relate to different action.

If you left out the second 「帰ります」in your sentence it could simply state "I
will buy (the bread) when coming back from work"

But with both 帰◯ in place I read it more like: "Today, after leaving work I
will go to buy the bread and only then return home" (indicating the way back
home will take more time than usual).
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2015-10-01T13:47:32.170
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Yes, it's redundant. I wouldn't like to say it with the intention, but
sometimes it could be inevitable.

`Vして帰る` is a common phrase to tell "do _V_ and/then go back (home)", but it
doesn't imply the _V_ is conducted during the way back. `帰り` for "way back
home" or "going home" is also a commonly used word, but 帰りに買う doesn't
necessarily mean it'll be brought home (or anything comes after; i.e. handed
over at the station, perhaps?).

So, maybe the speaker uttered it visualizing the whole sequence they would
drop into the store on the way back home, buy that thing, and bring it back
home to eat.
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2015-10-01T20:23:11.600
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