EDWARDSVILLE, IL (KMOX) - The boom in online sales during the pandemic has led some companies to refund money without making customers return items.
One of the retailers that allow customers to keep some products, while still giving those customers their money back is Walmart. The retail giant recently told CBS MoneyWatch it saves money in the long-run. Consumers tell KMOX that Amazon, which has fulfillment centers in both Missouri and Illinois, has also allowed them to keep items of small monetary value plus paid back their money. Neither company returned messages from KMOX News seeking comment on the policies.
An expert in supply chain management, Dr. Gertrude Pannirselvam, suspects another reason for the policy is to generate good will.
"And if by saying 'keep it', I can also buy in some loyalty. On the other hand if I say 'bring it in' and it takes 25 minutes to return an item, you're asking for trouble," says the Associate Professor in the Management and Marketing Department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Pannirselvam says returns do come with a cost for retailers.
"We think all that is technically done but it builds bins of work. Do we have to restock this or are we just canceling this? Are we not going to sell this again? And then if restock it in the middle of picking, then we have to have restocking tasks done," Pannirselvam says.
She points out another consideration for a retailer such as Amazon is that not every item comes out of the fulfillment centers, but instead comes directly from other suppliers, creating more complexity.
She says it's hard to tell how long these policies will be sustainable. Pannirselvam adds, even if you as the customer get your money back, someone is paying the price down the road.
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