The Ticking Time Bomb of eCommerce Returns

FEB 23, 2021

Product returns have always been part of the retail equation--and an often high cost of doing business. But over the years, free and easy returns have become a new basis of competition. As e-commerce typically brings with it return and product exchange rates 3-5 times as high as those in brick & mortar stores, the growing penetration of online shopping can create more speed bumps in the customer experience, increasing costs for retailers and real ecological challenges.

In this episode we dissect what's driving returns, why it matters and what can be done about it. We speak first with Scot Wingo, founder of Channel Advisor and CEO of Get Spiffy, who along with his podcast co-host Jason "Retail Geek" Goldberg, made "Shippageddon" part of the retail zeitgeist. Soon after "Returnageddon" took center stage. Then we bring on David Sobie, co-founder of Happy Returns, a fast growing company that seeks to make the end-to-end returns process beautiful for shoppers, retailers and the planet. 

After our interviews we jump into our fun new segment “Remarkable or Forgettable?” where we give our hot takes on a selection of retail headlines, and deem them wow-worthy, best ignored or somewhere in between. This week we talk about Five Below, which apparently didn't get the retail apocalypse memo, and is opening over 170 stores this year, Poshmark's plans to get into the pet resale category, Thrasio and Branded's big capital raise to roll-up Amazon marketplace sellers, Walmart quarterly earnings, Sephora's inclusive incubator program and the strong US retail results for January. 

Podcast originally published here.