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Here we are in the throes of Returnuary, when the torrent of returned items requires 1 out of 3 retailers to hire seasonal staff just to process them. And here comes another potential headache: Customers learning an item they’re attempting to return was a final sale or that the return window has closed, and, in their Karen-esque fury, screaming at customer service associates and taking their business elsewhere.
Now Poshmark, the resale marketplace, and Loop, the commerce platform focused on reverse logistics like returns and exchanges, have joined forces to help turn customers’ return failures into resale triumphs.
No returning back: Here’s how it works: When a customer starts an online return and it turns out it was a final-sale item or the return window has closed, a “Resell on Poshmark” button appears.
Then, because Loop has all the info on the item from the retailer’s product page, the listing is automatically filled in with a description and images, requiring the seller to do little besides typing in an asking price.
Poshmark embarked on the partnership “after observing an increase in Poshmark listings mentioning missing the return window” and seeing an “opportunity to create a sustainable solution,” Poshmark CMO Steven Tristan Young explained in a press release.
Making lemonade: Sure, Poshmark and Loop get out the pom-poms when they announce what they call in their press release a “first-of-its-kind partnership” like this, but you can see why they’re cheering.
As they note in their announcement, it’s a solution where the consumers win because they’re not throwing away or giving away an item they don’t want but rather getting cash for it, merchants maintain a more harmonious relationship with customers rather than frustrating them with their return policies, and Poshmark adds inventory to its site which both boosts their selection for shoppers and gives them a cut of the sale.
Helping to keep textiles out of landfills is nothing to sneeze at either.
“Together,” Loop CEO Hannah Bravo said in the press release, “we’re helping brands and consumers embrace resale as a simple, single-click experience, supporting a thriving circular economy while driving meaningful engagement and value for all.”