Barneys Warehouse has long been known for its stringent no return policy. Now the department store is eschewing its “all sales final” policy on its e-commerce site, recently announcing it will allow shoppers to return purchases online. However, they’ll have to pay for the privilege.
For $9.95, consumers can now return items they purchased on the Barneys Warehouse website. Despite the fee, online chatter about the change in return policy has been mostly favorable. According to Kellan Terry, a data analyst at social intelligence company Brandwatch, 75 percent of the discussion skews positively.
“The online return feature is clearly a move to encourage and fuel online revenue,” Terry said. “The $10 fee, as it stands now, is an attempt to further monetize the feature and connect the online returns to actual dollars. “
Terry added that he anticipates Barneys may opt to remove the fee down the road if the return policy is successful.
Barneys Warehouse originated as a biannual sale in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, before it expanded to an online e-commerce site back in 2013, making its offerings available to the masses year round. The decision to accept returns was part of Barney’s effort to increase the customer experience, Matthew Woolsey, executive vp of digital at Barney’s, told Racked.
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“Final sale has been a part of the Barneys Warehouse legacy dating back to its early days in Chelsea, but as the business has grown online we now see returns as an opportunity to improve experience and customers’ confidence to shop with us on Warehouse,” he said.
