Amazon Tests Returns at Staples Stores — Retail Bum

Amazon is piloting a returns program at Staples stores, further easing the returns process for its 300 million active customers.

The launch of the offering aims to further improve the customer experience while Amazon maintains a very lean physical presence.

“We are always innovating on behalf of our customers and identifying convenient solutions to shop and make returns,” Amazon spokesperson Lauren Samaha said in a statement.

“We have begun testing select Staples locations as drop-off points for Amazon returns.”

Customers are currently allowed to return their purchases without labels or packaging at more than 120 Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, or Amazon Style stores and 500 Whole Foods store locations across the country.

In 2019, the company also formed a partnership with Kohl’s to allow customers to return their purchases seamlessly. The partnership has proven to be a boon for Kohl’s as it resulted in 2 million additional customers frequenting the company’s stores in 2020, a third of whom were millennials.

The launch of the partnership with Staples comes at a time when managing returns is becoming a bigger headache for retailers every year. According to the National Retail Federation, U.S. customers returned some $761 billion worth of merchandise last year — nearly $218 billion worth of it came from online purchases.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on December 12, 2022.