CLEVELAND — When that delivery on your doorstep turns out to be a dud, sending that merchandise packing can be a real pain.
With the explosion of e-commerce, a record-breaking amount of merchandise, to the tune of $890 billion, was returned to retailers in 2024.
I learned a Northeast Ohio native helped develop a company to make those online returns easier.
It's called Happy Returns, a reverse logistics company that is trying to tackle what can be a painful process for consumers and a costly one for retailers.
“People return three to four times more when they buy items online than when they walk into a store," said David Sobe.
Sobe is the CEO of Happy Returns.
“What characterizes a Happy Return is no box and no label," said Sobe.
The Northeast Ohio native, along with his co-founder, Mark, who was raised in Akron, came up with the idea while working for a large department store chain.
"We're both good Midwesterners that have direct ties to the city. My whole family is in the Cleveland area,” said Sobe.
Customers start the process by scanning a QR code, and then they drop the item off at one of about 7,500 locations nationwide.
"So, this could be walking into a UPS store to do the return, walking into an Ulta Beauty, or Staples," said Sobe.
Sobe told me the consumer gets the convenience while the retailer sees the savings.
"The benefit for the merchant is that we can then aggregate items before they ship out," said Sobe.
Instead of thousands of items shipped individually, they are sent back in bulk.
"So not one or two boxes but imagine pallets of returns that actually come back to their warehouse," said Sobe.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers are now "bracketing," according to Happy Returns. This practice involves buying multiple sizes and colors and sending some back. Returns are an integral part of the shopping journey.
Sobe said retailers need to make it as easy as possible.
"It impacts whether or not people shop a merchant's website. It impacts how they feel if they ever come back to shop again," said Sobe.
To try and help keep returns in check, Happy Returns found that 81% of U.S. retailers now have stricter policies, including shortening the return window or charging a restocking fee.
On the flip side, a third of retailers, including Amazon and Target, allow customers to "keep it," issuing a refund without returning the product.
