Amazon, Walmart Are Telling Some Consumers to Skip Returns of Unwanted Items

Amazon, Walmart, and other companies are using artificial intelligence 'to decide whether it makes economic sense to process a return,' reports the Wall Street Journal:

For inexpensive items or large ones that would incur hefty shipping fees, it is often cheaper to refund the purchase price and let customers keep the products.

The relatively new approach, popularized by Amazon and a few other chains, is being adopted more broadly during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a surge in online shopping forces companies to rethink how they handle returns. 'We are getting so many inquiries about this that you will see it take off in coming months,' said Amit Sharma, chief executive of Narvar Inc., which processes returns for retailers...

A Target Corp. spokeswoman said the retailer gives customers refunds and encourages them to donate or keep the item in a small number of cases in which the company deems that option is easier than returning the purchase.

A Walmart spokeswoman said the 'keep it' option is designed for merchandise it doesn't plan to resell and is determined by customers' purchase history, the value of the products and the cost of processing the returns...

Processing online returns can cost $10 to $20, excluding freight, depending on the item, said Rick Faulk, chief executive of Locus Robotics, which uses robots to help automate returns.

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