Charge for returns, or 'no concerns'?

Author

Stephen Babcock
October 26, 2022

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Free returns are a staple of the ecommerce shopper experience, but policies are being revisited in recent months. H&M is exploring charging for returns, while Walmart is rolling out "no concerns." Loop COO Hannah Bravo offers strategies that allow retailers to keep consumer-friendly policies in place, but emphasize key areas such as relationships with loyal customers and easing pressure on logistics networks.

This week, Red Wing Shoe Company appoints its first woman CEO, while Shopware adds a president for US operations. Plus, a look at the leaders taking key roles at Purple, StockX and Xero Shoes.

After signs of more optimism over the last couple of months, the Consumer Confidence Index was back to its lowest level since July in October. In fact, the short-term outlook amid continuing inflation pressure is “dismal,” said the Conference Board’s Lynn Franco. This “could result in a challenging holiday season for retailers. And, given inventories are already in place, if demand falls short, it may result in steep discounting which would reduce retailers' profit margins,” Franco said. – CNN

Venmo is heading to the marketplace. Amazon is allowing users to pay for orders with the app that gained nearly 90 million users by offering a social, peer-to-peer payment method. The capability is expected to be in place for all shoppers by Black Friday.

Generative AI is gaining more practical uses, such as image creation through DALL-E-2 and content production via Jasper AI. Armando Roggio spotlights how it can be used in marketing – in particular, optimizing sites for Google. AI tools can help with keyword research, ideas and some of the writing. There’s no defined playbook yet, so experimentation will be necessary. – Practical Ecommerce

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