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Return Experiment

I never had any problems with my Amazon returns and have made a fair share  of them over the years.  So when they started offering a drop-off at Kohl's as an option, I was surprised I wanted to try it. The local UPS store closer to me than the Kohl's and printing the label and pasting it on the box is not such a great hardship. Arriving at Kohl's I was surprised to find that the Amazon return area was the busiest in the store - it had sucked the air out of the room. 

Copious amounts of paper and was being wasted by printing large return receipts with a 25% store discount for each item returned. I had a bag full of these labels by the time I was done. Despite all of us getting these great discount labels no one seemed to stick around to shop at Kohl's. I did stay back to see how this experiment was turning out for the store. People were visibly happy to get their discount coupons with their return. Likely the reason they will continue to come back. But in trying to use mine, I found the assortment to be woefully lacking specially that the Amazon app is a click away. If anything it will promote a lot more show-rooming and ill-serve Kohl's. This is contrary to their expectations needless to say.

"We're off to a good start with the back-to-school season and are confident that our upcoming brand launches, program expansions and increased traffic from the Amazon returns program will incrementally contribute to our performance during the balance of the year and beyond," 

There is increased traffic no doubt and they are being lured by a friction-less return experience and 25% off coupons. All wonderful things, except as a customer who just returned something from Amazon, I would be most likely to look for it's replacement. And that is where the assortment at just about any brick and mortar store will not be able to compete. There is absolutely no incentive for me as a buyer to shop from Kohl's. I could just order it on Amazon again while in the store even. The prices beat Amazon only when stuff is on clearance already on deep discount. Then that 25% off moves the needle. 

In the business it is well know that all categories are not equal and similarly all footfall is not either. If I came to return my stuff bought from Amazon, I am likely treating Kohl's no different than the UPS store where I previously dropped off my returns. I am likely not in the frame of mind to browse and shop. So it is a footfall no doubt but hardly the most desirable kind. In the end this will serve Amazon way better than it does Kohl's.

Amazon has definitely shaken the Whole Foods tree and made it look like just any other grocery store. As a shopper, I see slightly better prices but the assortment has lost the charm and whimsy that was attractive to many I think. Everything is more data driven no doubt but sometimes operational inefficiency be an inadvertent contributor to the charm. I don't shop at the local farmer's market because they run a tight ship and know exactly what their customers want. They bring what they have and we get from there what we need. Whole Foods used to be that way once.

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