Retailers have a new message for consumers who want to return an item: Keep it.
Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and other companies use artificial intelligence to decide if it makes economic sense to process a return. For cheap or large items, which would incur high shipping charges, it is often cheaper to refund the purchase price and allow customers to keep the products.
The relatively new approach, popularized by Amazon and a few other chains, is more widely adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, as an increase in online shopping forces companies to rethink how they manage returns. “We are receiving so many inquiries about this that you will see it take off in the coming months,” said Amit Sharma, chief executive of Narvar Inc., which processes returns for retailers.
Lorie Anderson from Vancouver, Washington, was pleasantly surprised when she tried to return online makeup shopping to Target and Walmart batteries. The chains gave him a refund, but told him to keep the items.
“They were cheap and it wouldn’t make much financial sense to return them by mail,” said 38-year-old Anderson. “It’s a problem to pack the box and throw it in the post office or UPS. This was one less thing I cared about. “