While returning items – whether you bought them online or in-store – may seem like a headache, many retailers are actually making it much easier for consumers.
Amazon was one of the first major retailers to let you keep the things you wanted to return, while still offering a refund. Now, eight other big companies are doing the same.
According to Kyle James of RatherBeShopping, there’s two primary reasons stores are doing this. He also shared his best insights with ConsumerAffairs on how shoppers can make the most of these return policies.
“There really are two main motivations for retailers to do this,” James said. “First, it improves customer satisfaction and loyalty. Second, it cuts operational costs for the retailer as they don't have to pay the return shipping charges on something they'll either liquidate or destroy.”
Which stores are participating?
According to James, nine of the biggest retailers are offering consumers refunds without asking for items back:
Amazon
Walmart
Target
Chewy
Wayfair
Zappos
Costco
Kohl’s
Home Depot
While each store has its own return policies, and will likely only let you keep certain items that you want to return, stores are most likely to adopt this policy for the following items:
Low-value electronics – earbuds, phone accessories, or chargers. James says anything $20 or less is typically fair game.
Household items – organizers, kitchen gadgets, decor
Apparel – things that are low cost and lightweight
Items that are big and bulky and under $20
Food – meats, bakery products, and dairy. If these spoil before the best-by date, they’ll give you your money back and tell you to keep it.
Is there a downside?
The short answer from James: no.
Consumers really have nothing to lose by retailers offering this option, other than getting stuck with items you may not want or are broken/defective. However, James says this is a great opportunity to utilize resale sites or your local donation bin.
“If it's pet food from Chewy.com, local animal shelters would love to get the free pet food,” James explained. “Otherwise sell it on eBay, a garage sale, or Facebook marketplace.”
If your goal is to keep an item that you want to return, James’ best advice is to avoid third-party sellers.
“Both Amazon and Walmart sell a lot of products that come from third-party sellers,” he said. “Most of these third parties have their own return policy in place and will want the product back, no matter the condition. So, if you're trying to trigger a ‘keep it’ response from the retailer you should stay away from third-party sellers.”
More retailers could be getting on board
Moving forward, James expects more retailers to get on board with this return method. However, there may be some security checks in place in the future to ensure that the policy is being used fairly.
“As more retailers start to do the math on the cost of return shipping, I see them getting on board,” he said. “Especially since it has the win-win proposition of also increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. But I'd expect retailers to use AI to determine if shoppers are abusing this policy and look for them to be cut off from returns.”