The era of free online returns is starting to show cracks.
forced retailers to adopt lenient return policies that cost them dearly. Now free returns are something consumers may have to learn to live without., once the king of free returns, is testing the waters of charging for them.
It's not universal — not yet anyway — but if you choose to drop off an Amazon-purchased item at a UPS store, you could be charged a $1 fee.Consumers should expect more retailers to give up on free online returns because of how much stores lose on those products, Babson College professor and retail expert Lauren Beitelspacher tells Axios.
Returns accounted for $816 billion in lost sales, or 17% of total sales in 2022, up from 11% in 2020,“When you buy it online, it has to go back to the fulfillment center, back through the distribution center, back into inventory — and honestly the chance of it being resold are very small,” she says. "It’s not sustainable for retailers," Beitelspacher said.
Debrup Jana, a senior director and analyst with research and consulting firm Gartner, tells Axios that since Amazon's charge is "modest," consumers likely won't change their "overall buying behavior."Whether Amazon's decision to start charging fees on some items returned through UPS locations signals further changes in their relationship.
Beitelspacher speculated that Amazon's fleet of delivery vehicles could begin accepting returns directly from consumers, much like U.S. Postal Service workers can accept mail with pre-applied postage.Jana agreed that it's possible Amazon might gradually start reducing its reliance on UPS while building its own logistics carrier network.Retailers are trying to balance their desire to keep customers happy with the need to preserve profits.
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Amazon will charge customers a fee for some UPS returnsFor decades, Amazon built its business by creating shopping that was fast, ridiculously easy and, seemingly, error-proof. You don't like it, just return it. But not anymore.
Read more »
Amazon will charge customers a fee for some UPS returnsFor decades, Amazon built its business by creating shopping that was fast, ridiculously easy and, seemingly, error-proof. You don't like it, just return it. But not anymore.
Read more »
Amazon will charge customers a fee for some UPS returnsFor decades, Amazon built its business by creating shopping that was fast, ridiculously easy and, seemingly, error-proof. You don't like it, just return it. But not anymore.
Read more »