Fast Five Shorts | REI Goes After ‘Serial Returners’

REI wants to stop serial returners.

According to Retail Dive, REI is now not accepting returns from a quote, small subset of its members who have repeatedly abused its return policies.

Normally, REI members would have up to one year to return most items, while non members have 90 days.

However, according to REI, a limited number of people have abused the company's return policy with an average return rate of 79%.

This particular group returned $2,400 worth of gear in the past year and $1,400 of that product was used, a spokesperson said.

As a result, while those members may still shop at rei, the company said they will no longer be allowed to make returns or exchanges.

Chris, something about this headline really spoke to you this week.

You were all in on it.

It was actually a was too.

This is their put you on the spot question.

So I want to know first of all, why this was so intriguing to you.

And then second, let get hit you with A&M's question, which is while on the surface this seems like a potential customer turn off policy, by the numbers given, this impacts less than 5,000 REI customers, accounting for about $12 million in returns and 3 million in non return sales.

With that in mind, Chris, does your mind go to why bother or does it go to why not?

Oh wow, 100% why not?

I mean those numbers, 12 million in returns, $3 million in sales, like that's, that's, that's, that's a huge delta.

Like no, I know, no, no amount of customers should be costing me that amount of money.

$12 million is a lot of money for people and a lot of money that can flow back in the operations.

So like, I don't know, I don't sneeze at that.

But.

So yeah, I think I'm all for REI doing this, but the reason I like this story, and if I step back 30,000 foot view of retail, I think it, it goes into showing us again as this is becoming a recurring theme on the show this year.

It shows you the power of data by way of a membership program, because REI is a membership program.

So it gives them the flexibility to take action like this because they know who those individual customers are.

So that gets me thinking.

Anne, we're hearing more stories about how returns are a problem.

More retailers are starting to charge for them even.

And so it makes me ask another question, which is with all these subscription programs coming online like Walmart plus, what angle do they start to take with returns?

Like, does a Walmart plus member get an extended return policy?

Do the windows get shorter for Non Walmart shoppers, or any loyalty program member, for that matter, at any retailer.

So the headline, to me, just presents, ultimately, a new canvas on rich retailers can paint something we haven't seen before.

And that's why I like this headline so much.

It gets my mind just going in new directions.

But I don't know.

I hope you don't rate on my parade on this one.

I kind of worried that you might, but maybe we'll just be friendly again on this show.

I don't know.

What's your take?

No, I mean, I think this is a definite.

Why not?

I mean.

Yeah.

Okay.

First, I was trying to consider, like, what are the cons here?

You have REI that's in an increasingly competitive space with Dick's Sporting Goods, Public Lands coming online and expanding their stores.

Bass Pro Shops kind of coming into favor with Next Generation of customer.

But I really don't think it's that big of a deal.

I think this is just some bad actors who have really screwed things up.

Like, it reminds me of being in Catholic school when one of our teachers, Sister Ann Marie, she let us chew gum, right?

But then some jerks in the class started putting it under church pews.

They put it under their desks, and they put it on Sister Anne Marie's chair.

And you know what?

Then we couldn't chew gum anymore.

So that's what happens.

And if you're going to abuse a policy like this, I think that this is just.

We're going to start to see, like you said, that we're going to start to see more retailers start to draw a hard line in the sand about their return policies.

And I think REI is in a unique position, like, from a PR standpoint, to be like, look, you can't return any things anymore, but you can go to REI resale.

And maybe if, like, if you're going to use these products for a year and then return them, like, here's an opportunity for you to get 10, 20, 40% back on that purchase by putting it into the resale program.

We're done with you.

Stop abusing our returns.

Like, I think.

I think that's what we're looking at here with this story.

Yeah.

And for all intents and purposes, REI's return policy, when you read it, is pretty dang generous.

So, like, they give you a lot of grace.

So.

So they're just basically saying, we caught you, your sister Ann Marie caught you, and you just got to deal with it.

So, yes, any Catholic school analogy is always wonderful, and nice job.