The retailer didn’t disclose the extent of the increase, which it attributed to “changing market conditions.”
Walmart has bumped up return shipping rates for seller-fulfilled orders as businesses try to balance consumer-friendly returns policies and minimize reverse logistics costs. Some are charging returns fees or toughening up their policies in other ways.
Crafting an effective returns strategy is a particularly pressing challenge for online sellers. In December, the National Retail Federation and Appriss Retail projected that online returns in the U.S. retail industry would reach $247 billion worth of merchandise in 2023, or 17.6% of total online sales. That’s a larger share than projected for brick-and-mortar shopping, with in-store returns worth 13.3% of total sales.
Sellers on Walmart Marketplace, the retailer’s e-commerce platform, can add a “Keep It Rule” to avoid paying for return shipping, per the March “Seller Digest.” The rule allows customers to keep their items and receive a full refund.
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“Sometimes it’s more cost-effective for Marketplace sellers to let customers keep an item and process the refund than paying a return shipping fee,” according to Walmart’s Seller Help page on the rule.
“Keep it” policies are appealing for retailers selling low-cost items, as the expenses of shipping and processing often surpass the product’s worth, according to a 2023 report from goTRG, a returns management solutions provider. The report said 59% of the over 500 U.S.-based retailers it surveyed have adopted “keep it” services for returns that aren’t economical to ship back.
