Reverse logistics solution provider Happy Returns unveiled a deal with FedEx Corp. today to offer the firm’s in-person return service at more than 2,000 FedEx Office locations, saying the move will allow retailers to offer their customers streamlined product return service at four times the number of storefront locations as before.
Retailers that partner with Happy Returns will now be able to prompt their shoppers to return unwanted products in person, without needing a box or label, and receive an immediate refund or exchange, the startup said. Santa Monica, California-based Happy Returns said the service will start in Los Angeles and expand nationwide by the end of October.
The move quadruples the number of locations where shoppers can drop off “hassle free” returns, joining more than 500 existing location in Happy Returns’ Return Bars network, which are located in traditional retailers, shopping malls, campus bookstores, and office buildings.
For consumers, the process starts when they click onto either the retailers’ own website or HappyReturns.com and receive a QR-style barcode on their smartphones. They then bring those items and the QR code to a nearby FedEx Office site to drop off the merchandise without needing a box or label. That process is similar to deals by other retailers like amazon.com and Verizon with UPS Inc.’s chain of UPS Store facilities, which also provide packing and shipping services when shoppers drop off returnable goods.
However, Happy Returns’ software platform then prompts FedEx Office employees to aggregate box-free items from multiple merchants into a single shipment, reducing the cost of the process for participating retailers. Those combined shipments are sent to one of Happy Returns’ two regional processing hubs, which use the firm’s software to accept, sort, and process co-mingled returns.
E-commerce shopping returns are expected to soar during the third and fourth quarters of 2020, as homebound shoppers have already driven hot online sales growth during the Covid-19 pandemic and will now ramp that pace up even further through sales such as Amazon’s Prime Day and the traditional winter holiday peak.
