Can’t beat ’em? Join ’em. Sigh…
Buy something on Amazon and want to send it back? Kohl’s will take it off your hands for you. The department store chain announced Wednesday that starting in July, it will accept Amazon returns at all of its 1,150 stores.
Kohl’s says it will accept “eligible Amazon items, without a box or label, and return them for customers for free.” The program will expand a pilot introduced at Kohl’s stores in the Los Angeles, Chicago and Milwaukee markets in 2017.
The move highlights a major headache of shopping online: You often can’t try something before you buy it, and if the item doesn’t work out, it can be a hassle to return it.
The Kohl’s-Amazon partnership offers one solution, at least for people with a Kohl’s nearby. (Kohl’s stores are often located in suburban strip malls, not city centers, so the partnership won’t help many carless urbanites.)
And why might Kohl’s want to partner with its online competitor? Foot traffic and new customers. If Amazon shoppers go to Kohl’s to make a return, perhaps they’ll pick up a few items while they’re at it.