New service at Somerset Collection takes hassle out of online returns
By Kurt Nagl | Apr 10, 2018
Happy Returns, a company that aims to take the hassle out of online shopping returns, is set to open Thursday at Somerset Collection in Troy — its first location in Michigan.
The Santa Monica-based company will process returns for popular online brands, including Everlane, Eloquii, Tradesy, Untuckit, Tecovas, Mizzen + Main, Yosi Samra, Trew Gear, Jaanuu, Crap Eyewear, City Chic, Carbon 38, KOIO Shoes and Thursday Boot Co., according to a news release.
Shoppers bring their orders to the "return bar" location where an employee inspects the items, the shopper provides their email address and the refund is generated immediately. The return bar will be operated by Somerset's guest services in the South Rotunda area of the mall on Big Beaver Road.
The service helps shoppers avoid having to ship items back to the online store and wait for a refund.
"In this next generation of retail, we are constantly piloting and adopting ways in which we can marry digital clicks with retail bricks to create frictionless shopping experiences for the omnichannel customer," Nathan Forbes, managing partner of Southfield-based The Forbes Co., which owns and manages Somerset, said in the release.
The service is free for patrons returning items, according to the company. In fact, following a return, patrons will receive a $10 gift card to be used on the same day at the mall. Retailers partnering with Happy Returns pay the company per item returned.
Happy Returns locations, like Somerset, should benefit from highly-qualified foot traffic driven to their locations
The first 20 Happy Returns customers at Somerset will receive $100 gift cards for any store at the mall, according to the release.
The company plans to open five more return bars in the Detroit area by the end of the year, and 220 locations nationwide.
Happy Returns is a startup by Mark Geller and David Sobie, who raised $1.9 million in seed money in 2015 and opened the first location in 2016, according to a report from CNBC.
It operates 90-plus locations across the country, several of which are in malls and convenience stores.
Write to Kurt Nagl at knagl@crain.com
Article was originally published here.