What you think about: ‘Keep it’ return policies

In more and more instances, retailers are now allowing consumers to keep online returns, rather than pay for the shipping and handling needed on the return. In 2023, some 59% of retailers offered these kinds of “keep it” policies for online products, up from 26% last year, according to returns services firm goTRG. The firm surveyed 500 executives at 21 major retailers, among them Amazon and Walmart.

As retailers adopt tech to root out excess costs, more are embracing returnless policies for certain online purchases — a trend that obviously retailers don’t want out there. 

Here’s what you think about the trend:

Richard Turcsik, Principal at RJT Editorial Services
People are going to take advantage of this and “keep” items that are perfectly fine but will claim they are damaged or dissatisfied without paying for them.

Shawn xa, Founder/CEO
The manufacturers are the one taking the loss not the retailers. So, please be mindful of your purchase.

Artin Taskin, Chief Financial Officer
Correct, retailers charge back for damages and returns, now they will skip the step of verifying. Longview, damage allowances will increase for the manufacturer, manufacturer will increase prices to compensate, retailer will increase pricing, and the customer will end up paying for the increased returns.

Ethan Jones, Fleet Technology Specialist
It’s a cost avoidance measure: the merchant is putting the cost of disposal on the customer. The issue is that this could lead to abuse from some customers and also lost revenue opportunity. The product may still be in good condition overall and could be resold as well by the merchant. It boils down to is the juice worth the squeeze. For a smaller merchant , it’s not worth the hassle of returns. For larger merchants it is worth paying for returns above a certain threshold, large merchants have large volumes and more opportunities for revenue.

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Have another thought? Add your comment below or email the SN staff at [email protected], and make sure to include your first and last name and job title for publication.