Starting this spring, Target shoppers will be able to return unopened products to select stores without leaving their cars – using the Target app and the same drive-up routine they follow when picking up orders.
The retailer expects to roll out the service to nearly 2,000 US locations by the end of the summer. Whether bought in-store, picked up curbside, or delivered at home, items purchased using a Target Circle membership can be brought back within 90 days.
E-commerce delivery and curbside pickup options have made it almost dangerously easy to buy stuff without having to go too far out of your way. But for those inevitable purchases that you just don't need, the process of returning items can feel decidedly archaic: Stand in a line? Print a shipping label? In this economy?
Retailers process an estimated $500 billion in returns each year, and there is a growing field of players trying to solve the puzzle.
FedEx, UPS, and Amazon continue rolling out "no-box, no-label" returns for selected retailers, allowing customers to simply hand an item off to someone who will pack and ship it for them. But Target is taking convenience a step farther, and of course, the company isn't shy about the upsides it expects to see as customers avail themselves of the new option.
For one thing, making it easier for customers to bring stuff back to the store is expected to cut down on the number of returns that are shipped, a figure the company considers "meaningful."
But the company is also betting you'll want them to put something new — like groceries — in your trunk after they've pulled the return out. Plus, the introduction of curbside pickup has only led to more visits to stores, not fewer, and the company sees this as extending that trend.
The move also drives more engagement with the Circle membership program and the Target app, both of which are critical to the company getting more useful insights about individual preferences and shopping behavior.
"When we take friction out of the process and make it easier for guests to fall more in love with Target, that's the most powerful economic relationship to be focused on," CFO Michael Fiddelke told investors on Tuesday. "I think we've learned that time and time again. Drive Up is a perfect example."
