Walmart one-up Amazon: you don’t have to leave home to return packages for free

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The retailer announced on Monday that it will pick up items delivered and sold by Walmart.com from customer homes through a new partnership with FedEx (FDX). Walmart said the “incredibly convenient” option is free and will remain in place beyond the busy holiday shopping season.

To use the new service, called “FedEx Pickup,” customers have the return process initiated on the Walmart website or app, schedule a pickup date, and print a label. It will then be picked up by a FedEx employee.

For those who don’t have a printer, customers can return to any of the approximately 2,000 FedEx Office locations in the U.S. by obtaining a QR code from the Walmart website, and a FedEx employee will print a free return label, and will ship it back – a similar service already offered by Amazon and UPS.

New shipping options appear as Walmart’s online sales in the US rose 79% in the most recent quarter, indicating that it is in the midst of another strong holiday season, especially as people change their online habits. during the pandemic.

Walmart (WMT) tries to take into account the challenges of its biggest rival, Amazon (AMZN). Customers who purchase items from Amazon can deliver packages without a box or label to some Whole Foods markets, Kohl’s stores and cabinets and UPS. Some items are also eligible to be picked up at home by UPS for a fee.
FedEx also recently partnered with Happy Returns, an e-commerce return technology company, to personally return products without a box or label from various retailers.

Companies are improving and improving their parcel delivery services “to remain an attractive partner with these shippers,” Matthew Young, a stock analyst at Morningstar Research Services, previously told CNN Business.

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