Happy Returns wants to make the reverse logistics process more flexible for large retailers by allowing them to accept returns from multiple brands in their network across online and in stores—and is tagging Shein as one of the first beneficiaries of its newest feature.
The UPS-owned company, known for its 9,000 Return Bars, is enabling shoppers to return Shein products to 373 Forever 21 stores in the U.S. via its box-free, label-free buy online, return in store (BORIS) capabilities.
“We are always looking for new ways to optimize the shopping experience for Shein customers—from speedier delivery to easy returns,” said George Chiao, president of Shein U.S. in a statement.
According to Mark Geller, co-founder and chief operating officer of Happy Returns, Shein is the largest merchant the returns technology provider has partnered with to date. It also marks a first for Happy Returns, in that it now works with a third-party retailer outside of its current network in Forever 21.
Geller said the new capabilities aim to solve problems that enterprise retailers often encounter with online returns. He said returns acceptance and software integration are still pain points, in that they can slow down a shopper getting their refund or prevent them from updating their inventory systems appropriately.
The co-founder also noted that retailers often have difficulties in physically handling returned products.
“Receiving large numbers of online returns in the physical stores is a major challenge for the stores to manage for a variety of reasons,” Geller said. “The first is often they will sell online SKUs that aren’t even in the inventory system of the stores, and/or you have all these onesie-twosie returns coming back that you know are unpredictable and unbalanced. It’s a challenge to deal with that inventory just coming into their stores. And wanting to have ways for that inventory to go to the right place, so that they know what they have and where they have it. And they’re able to sell it for their maximum margin.”
Happy Returns says the cross-brand solution is return portal agnostic, meaning retailers can use their own portal or Happy Returns’ proprietary software to generate QR codes for box-free drop off and direct shoppers to any store designated in the merchant’s network.
“Before we accept the items, our software also enables Forever 21 to do what we call ‘item scanning,’ so they’re able to scan the items for barcodes to validate that the item is present and then it’s the correct item,” Geller said. “The rest is facilitating that process with the customer to not only accept their item, but then automatically provide those customers with coupons for Forever 21. That’s obviously a big part of what Forever 21 is getting—the foot traffic.”
According to David Sobie, co-founder and CEO of Happy Returns, 86 percent of consumers prefer the box-free, label-free solutions to the traditional mailing process when conducting a return.
Once returns are dropped off, Happy Returns offers reverse logistics options to move inventory to the ideal best place for sale, whether that means keeping it in-store, moving it to a different store in the retailer’s network or shipping returns to an e-commerce warehouse.
“In the case of Shein and Forever 21, in order to get those items back into their system as soon as possible, rather than shipping them to our hubs, and consolidating and shipping them, we work with UPS to ship the items directly from each store to the appropriate Shein warehouse location,” said Geller.
With this platform, brands and retailers can access shipping supplies, coordinate pick-ups, along with gain visibility to track returned goods.
The cross-brand solution also gives added benefits for potential customer retention.
“Once Shein shoppers complete their return we are pleased to offer a same-day discount on their next Forever 21 purchase,” said Winnie Park, CEO of Forever 21, in a statement.
Sobie told Sourcing Journal during the Manifest Logistics Conference in February that retailers need to focus primarily on making returns a positive experience for consumers instead of a transaction.
“The first area I think a lot of retailers struggle is making exchanges easy,” Sobie said. “When I buy these shoes and they’re a size 10 and they’re too big, the software should make it easy to check if a size 9 is available.”
The BORIS solution includes a dedicated team that actively monitors, manages and supports locations to prevent return fraud. Additionally, the software is compatible with any point-of-sale (POS) system that supports a browser window.
Shein is a strategic partner and one-third owner of Sparc Group, the joint venture of Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group that operates and licenses the Forever 21 brand. As part of the Shein-Sparc deal, entered in August 2023, Forever 21 began selling Shein products in its stores.
