In an unexpected shift, Kohl's has ceased accepting Amazon returns at selected locations across four U.S. states.
According to the Daily Mail, Kohl's discontinuation of Amazon returns at certain stores marks a significant change from a service that began in 2017 aimed at increasing customer convenience and store traffic.
The decision affects Kohl's stores in Massachusetts, Washington, Missouri, and Wisconsin, as indicated by store employees. From Tuesday onward, all Kohl's stores in these states will no longer process returns for Amazon purchases.
Instead of utilizing Kohl's, customers are advised to use The UPS Store for their Amazon returns. This marks a departure from the previous arrangement where Kohl's accepted returns at nearly all its U.S. locations, with the sole exception of Anchorage, Alaska.
Support products managed by Kohl's discovered that the service had originally launched as a pilot in California and Wisconsin in 2017 and expanded nationwide by 2019. Amazon customers could bring their returns to Kohl's where the items would be packaged, labeled, and shipped back at no additional charge.
Kohl's has described the current step as a test to "learn from customer feedback" and refine its offerings. This approach is part of what the company calls its "test and learn culture," which focuses on tailoring the store experience to better suit shopper preferences.
During this program's full run, customers started the return process through Amazon's Online Return Center. After selecting the Kohl's Drop-Off option, they received a QR code that Kohl's staff would scan to process their returns.
The initiative reportedly benefited Kohl's significantly, bringing in approximately two million new customers by the year 2021. This uptick in new clientele highlighted the mutual benefits of the partnership with Amazon.
Despite the noted influx of customers, Kohl's has been facing financial struggles recently, with projections indicating a 5 to 7 percent dip in sales. Compounding this, Kohl's has announced it will close 27 stores in 15 states by April 1 this year.
Kohl's stock took a hit, plunging over 26 percent after the announcement on March 11, underlining the economic challenges the company is grappling with amidst this strategic pivot.
A Kohl's spokesperson remarked to DailyMail.com, "Kohl's has been providing a service to customers by accepting returns from Amazon and select other third parties across our store fleet at our Return Drop for several years." They added, "To continue to learn from our customers, we are conducting a test in a handful of our stores where we will be temporarily discontinuing the third-party returns service."
Back in 2019, Kohl's CFO Jill Timm had stressed the importance of initiatives like the Amazon returns program for driving store traffic, mentioning that it was a key item alongside other initiatives such as a partnership with Sephora.
Former CEO Tom Kingsbury, in a January press release, emphasized the difficulty of such decisions, stating, "We always take these decisions very seriously. As we continue to build on our long-term growth strategy, it is important that we also take difficult but necessary actions to support the health and future of our business for our customers and our teams."
As the testing progresses, Kohl's aims to closely monitor customer responses to better understand the overall impact of discontinuing third-party return services. This step, while challenging, is seen as essential for adapting to the evolving retail landscape.
