U.S. Postal Service launches online return service
By Peter Bradley, Toby Gooley, and James Aaron Cooke -- Logistics Management, 1/1/2000
Merchandise returns have been the bane of most Internet retailers. Return rates for merchandise purchased via the Internet are higher than for goods purchased in person--and the costs are higher, too. To address those growing problems, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has launched a new service to facilitate reverse distribution for online merchandisers.The Postal Service began its new Electronic Merchandise Return Service just in time for the 1999 holiday shopping season. The program was specifically designed to make returning items bought online, through catalogs, or over the phone easier for both buyers and sellers.
To use the service, online retailers must obtain a merchandise-return permit and set up an account at any local post office. When a customer alerts the online retailer of the need to return an item, the retailer provides the customer, via the Internet, with a merchandise return label, which the customer prints and applies to the package being returned. The package can then be tendered to a letter carrier, dropped in a collection box, or taken to the nearest post office.
The USPS is confident that the service will prove useful to Internet retailers. "Returns are the reality of shopping," says Kim Parks, manager of marketing and strategy for expedited package service.
The Postal Service tested its service with Altrec, an online outdoor-lifestyle retailer based in Seattle. At present, a half-dozen companies are using the service and more are expected to sign on, says USPS spokesman Gerry McKiernan.
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