WalMart Stores is simplifying the return process through its smartphone app, aiming to ease a major hassle of shopping in time for the holiday season.<\/p>\n
Beginning in early November, shoppers will be able to initiate the return of items bought online via the retailer\u2019s app before going to the store. Once there, they\u2019ll move through a dedicated express lane to scan the products and hand them over.<\/p>\n
The new system is meant to shave the average time it takes to process a return from about 5 minutes to 30 seconds. WalMart will also instantly credit customers for returns of some items without having to bring them back at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize that saving time is the new currency for customers, as much as saving money,\u201d Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services and digital acceleration, said in an interview.<\/p>\n
The moves represent the latest effort by the world\u2019s largest retailer to improve its online shopping experience to counter Amazon.com Inc., which has a flexible return policy.<\/p>\n
Almost one-third of items ordered online are returned, compared with just 8% of things bought in physical stores, according to Optoro, which works for WalMart\u2019s e-commerce unit Jet.com to process returns.<\/p>\n
US shoppers return about $260 billion in goods annually, a figure that\u2019s increased as more purchasing moves to the web.<\/p>\n
WalMart\u2019s new app-based returns process will expand to include in-store purchases early next year, Eckert said. Items eligible for the instant return credit, without bringing the products back, include shampoo and some cosmetics. That service will start \u201csometime in December,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The company declined to say how many customers use its app, and doesn\u2019t share data on the volume of items returned.<\/p>\n
Third Parties<\/strong><\/p>\n The program doesn\u2019t cover returns of products sold by third parties over WalMart\u2019s online marketplace, Eckert said, as that\u2019s \u201ca bit more of a complex program to tackle right out of the gate.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if customers could exploit the ability to get instant credit for items purchased without having to actually return them, Eckert said WalMart would be able to detect and root out abuses.<\/p>\n WalMart\u2019s US e-commerce chief Marc Lore is among the company executives slated to address shareholders this week at its annual investor day.<\/p>\n
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