Product Returns

E-commerce is a land of high expectations. Customers not only expect but demand high-quality products, speedy delivery, and hassle-free return policies. Large public e-commerce sites have made these the standards to which all other brands must compete. So what happens to direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that do everything in-house? They can't do one-day shipping, they can't…

Where some see Amazon.com as a competitive force to steer clear of, others see the value of playing nice. Kohl’s is one traditional retailer deciding to partner with the 800-pound gorilla, and having paved the path, you can be sure that others will follow. Kohl’s is now accepting unpackaged Amazon returns in its store, independent…

With 87 percent of shoppers beginning their customer journey in digital channels, brick-and-mortar retailers need to invest in optimizing their e-commerce strategy. For most brands, online shopping presents new challenges, including ever-growing return rates. With customers unable to try on an item when they purchase online, shoppers order multiple of the same item with the…

FedEx will offer pickup and drop-off services inside Dollar General stores, expanding the shipping company’s reach in rural America. Memphis-based FedEx on Monday announced the alliance with fellow Tennessee company Dollar General Corp. The companies plan to begin adding FedEx services in more than 1,500 Dollar General stores by late summer and expand to more than 8,000…

One of the downfalls that has come with the growth in e-commerce sales is the corresponding increase in product returns, particularly in certain categories such as apparel and footwear. It makes sense. Without the ability to touch, feel and try on a product before making a purchase like in-store shoppers have, one would expect return…

It’s amazing how seemingly crazy ideas come to you when you least expect it. This happened to me recently while reacting to a tweet from retail analyst Andrew Busby. Andrew had commented on the news that ASOS, one of the largest U.K. online fashion retailers, had changed its returns policy. ASOS was effectively reserving the…

Despite seeing record sales revenue recently, there’s a concerning trend in online retail that could seriously impact future growth and success for merchants. Last year, nearly two-thirds of global consumers (61 percent) felt let down by their online shopping experience, up from 47 percent in 2017. This is an enormous percentage of unhappy customers that…

Kohl's announced Tuesday that it will accept Amazon.com returns in all of its store locations beginning in July, reports CNBC. Kohl's currently sells select Amazon products and accepts the e-commerce giant's returns in roughly 100 stores. The expansion of their partnership will push out Amazon returns capabilities to all Kohl's locations, amounting to more than…

Between rapid technology evolution’s effect on sales and smaller businesses stuck hiding behind the shadows of e-commerce giants, retailers are grappling with a great deal of uncertainty. Even in the best of retail sales and revenue growth, product returns are expected to have accounted for 30 percent of the 2018 retail economy — an estimated $37 billion. So,…

A survey by the National Retail Federation in 2018 showed that retailers reported a median return rate of 10 percent. This equates to $369 billion in sales that were made and then lost. Legitimate returns are expensive for retailers — labor, overhead, and opportunity costs all impact performance. Added to these necessary returns, return fraud…