Retailers have a new message for consumers who want to return an item: keep it.
Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and other companies are using artificial intelligence to decide whether it makes economic sense to process a return. For cheap or large items that would incur heavy shipping fees, it is usually cheaper to return the purchase price and allow customers to keep the products.
The relatively new approach, popularized by Amazon and some other networks, is being adopted more broadly during the Covid-19 pandemic, as an increase in online purchases forces companies to rethink how they handle returns. “We are getting so many questions about this that you will see the process take off in the coming months,” said Amit Sharma, chief executive of Narvar Inc., which processes returns to retailers.
Lorie Anderson, from Vancouver, Wash., Was pleasantly surprised when she tried to return online purchases of makeup at Target and batteries from Walmart. The chains repaid her, but told her to keep the items.
“They were cheap and it wouldn’t make a lot of financial sense to return them in the mail,” said Anderson, 38. “It is very complicated to pack the box and leave it in the mail or UPS. That was one less thing that I needed to worry about. “