- This is an excerpt from a story delivered exclusively to Business Insider Intelligence E-Commerce Briefing subscribers.
- To receive the full story plus other insights each morning, click here.
Kohl’s announced that it’ll begin accepting returns of Amazon purchases at all of its locations nationwide starting in July, CNBC reports.
Business Insider Intelligence
The full rollout will bring the total number of Kohl’s locations handling Amazon returns to over 1,150, a more than 10-fold expansion from the approximate 100 stores that were offering the service after a small expansion of the partnership in August 2018.
Here’s what it means: The aggressive evolution of the Kohl’s-Amazon partnership showcases Kohl’s’ tremendous vote of confidence in Amazon.
In addition to accepting returns at all locations, Kohl’s has been selling Amazon-branded products in more stores. The retailer previously had Amazon kiosks in 30 stores dedicated to selling Amazon products, and after the e-commerce giant decided to close all such pop-ups in the US, Kohl’s moved to a wholesale relationship with Amazon.
Amazon-branded products will now be available from more stores (200 in total) and will be sold directly from Kohl’s instead of from Amazon pop-ups. Between the deeper wholesale relationship with Amazon and the huge expansion of the returns collaboration, Kohl’s seems to be signaling that it’s found a way to have a mutually beneficial relationship with Amazon despite the latter’s reputation as the enemy of all traditional retailers.
The bigger picture: The Kohl’s-Amazon partnership helps both parties forward their wider strategies.
- Kohl’s wants to drive traffic and boost the value of its stores. With this year’s expected store closures already approaching the total for the whole of 2018, retailers are faced with the challenge of making their stores work for them. To achieve this goal, Kohl’s has been forming collaborations to drive traffic to stores. For example, it’s also partnered with Aldi, allowing the supermarket chain to operate spaces adjacent to a handful of Kohl’s locations, and is even experimenting with opening a WW — formerly Weight Watchers — studio in a Kohl’s in Chicago.
- Amazon is striving to make it as easy as possible for customers to return items. Whether it’s allowing customers to return items to Amazon Lockers located in Whole Foods stores or to Kohl’s locations, offering a buy online, return in-store (BORIS) option is a strong tactical choice for Amazon. Forty percent of consumers think that returning items in-store is easier than returning items via shipping, and another 40% say that they wouldn’t buy an item online without a BORIS option, so Amazon stands to benefit from adding as many in-store return points as possible.
Interested in getting the full story? Here are two ways to get access:
1. Sign up for the E-Commerce Briefing to get it delivered to your inbox 6x a week. >> Get Started
2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to the E-Commerce Briefing, plus more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you’ll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now
See Also:
- US Amazon Prime growth is on a two-quarter rebound
- Amazon surrenders in China
- Amazon is facing antitrust scrutiny in Italy
SEE ALSO: THE OMNICHANNEL FULFILLMENT REPORT: Why the death of brick-and-mortar has been greatly exaggerated
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Gregory Magana)