Amazon Warns Customers About Frequently Returned Items

It finally happened. Amazon’s free and easy return policy for the vast assortment of items Is key to the company’s pitch to the consumer. Now the company is waking up to the fact that some customers have sent purchases back too often.

CEO Andy Jassy’s effort to insure profitability during recessionary times makes it mandatory to monitor the frequency of returns, something that traditional retailers have discovered a long time ago. During the pandemic, for instance, many loyal department store customers ordered three or four dresses by mail and kept one. Costumers just were not sure which size of a dress would fit properly.

Now Amazon, in recent months, started warning customers that an item they are about to buy has been “frequently returned.” The notice suggests that customers check “the product details and customer reviews” before they purchase. The introduction of the “frequently returned” warning, according to The Information comes as returns have become a costly problem for the e-commerce industry broadly after skyrocketing during the pandemic.

Amazon’s liberal return policy can encourage returns, according to some sellers. Certainly, Nordstrom’s easy and liberal policy on returns has boosted returns on designer fashion apparel. The policy was introduced just before the pandemic caused by Covid-19 and was an example many other retailers followed.

Many of the garments, when returned, are unsaleable, since they may have odors or powder. Maybe such garments can be disposed of in a second-hand shop. It would be a loss to the store, or Amazon.

POSTSCRIPT: Jassy’s efforts to improve the profitability of Amazon runs counter to Jeff Bezos’ effort to have a major stake in the ready-to-wear market by having a major stake in ladies’ apparel. It will be interesting to see how the “frequently returned” tags affect Amazon’s customers.