Walmart Inc. on Monday launched a return service with FedEx, allowing online shoppers to send back products without ever leaving the comfort of home.
The exclusive program, called “Carrier Pickup with FedEx,” offers customers a free return for any item that was shipped and sold by Walmart.com, Fox Business reported, citing a blog post written by Linne Fulcher, the company’s vice president of customer strategy, science and journeys.
According to the company, customers seeking a return must schedule a date for pickup and print a return label through either Walmart’s website or app. In turn, a FedEx employee will retrieve the package.
Meanwhile, customers without access to a printer may select the “Drop off at FedEx” option and receive a QR return code that can be taken to any FedEx location to be scanned by an associate who will print a free return label for shipping, the company stated.
“Combined with a year unlike any other, we knew it was time to look at our return policies and processes to ensure they were safe and headache-free,” Fulcher wrote in the company’s blog post.
Walmart also clarified that even though the new service will most certainly help alleviate in-store crowds jockeying to return Christmas gifts, the service will remain in place after holiday returns have concluded.
The new shipping options comes as Walmart’s U.S. online sales soared 79% in the most recent quarter, CNN reported.
Amazon, the retail behemoth’s largest rival, already allows its customers to drop off packages without a box or label at some Whole Foods markets, Kohl’s and UPS stores and lockers – with some items eligible for home pick-up by UPS for a fee, the network reported.
Likewise, FedEx recently partnered with e-commerce return technology company Happy Returns to return products in person without a box or label from myriad retailers.
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