FedEx gives the consumer a big time gift – no-box, no-label returns!

Thinking that Amazon’s got a good idea with its no-box, no-label returns program, FedEx is expanding its version of the program too. Now, consumers can take unboxed, unlabeled returns – ones with a QR code -- that’s important – to any of 2,000 FedEx Office locations, say “Here you go” and go on with their lives.

It might sound like a hassle for FedEx, but reports say the company will simply consolidate returned items and ship them back to the merchants where they came from.

FedEx thinks that with its print-and-ship locations, making life easier for the consumer could lead to making its portfolio stronger. And the data proves that, too.

According to research from Forbes, “Consumers now rank in-person box-free returns as the number one preferred method for online returns, while mail-in returns have dropped to the fourth-ranked position. Nearly half of the shoppers surveyed do not have continuous access to a printer that can be used for printing return labels.”

Unless a consumer has a fairly large returns window, Christmas returns probably won’t work because the program’s expansion won’t start expanding system-wide until early 2023. But still, it doesn’t hurt to call your local FedEx office and ask.

So, who’s next? UPS? We’ll have to wait and see on that one.