The holiday rush is in full swing, and customers are counting on fast, stress-free experiences—especially when a gift isn’t quite right. Returns are a natural part of retail any time of year, but they don’t have to disrupt your momentum. Our streamlined return programs can help you reduce preventable returns and handle unavoidable ones with ease.
Reduce returns with high-impact solutions
We took a look at trends over the past year and pinpointed three main reasons why items are returned—along with fixes for each. Here’s how to stay ahead, so you can make sure you’re meeting our Refund Rate of less than 6%.
1.
Defective, damaged, or
wrong items
- Ensure all parts are included, the quality of the product is as represented, and that no manufacturer defects exist.
- Select sufficient packaging based on the type and weight of each product.
- Check that the Universal Product Codes (UPCs) are associated with the correct products.
2.
Incorrect or inaccurate
listing content
- Verify that product photos and descriptions best represent the item your customer will receive.
- Keep your content quality high with accurate product titles, descriptions, key features, and images.
3.
Delivery issues, such as items arriving late
- Pick the lag time, shipment method, carrier, and service level that align with your Expected Delivery Date.
- Plan your inventory well based on forecasts.
- Staff your business appropriately for each season.
The Return Insights dashboard helps you understand why products are returned, the costs involved, and which items drive the most issues. Use it to reduce returns by spotting patterns, fixing root causes, improving listings, and more.
Manage returns simply and stress-free
Fielding returns yourself can be overly complicated, especially if you sell large or bulky items or don’t have a U.S.-based returns center. Even if you do want to handle returns on your own, you may still need tools to simplify the process. We offer programs that cover both—let’s go over them.
With WFS, we not only handle your picking, packing, and shipping—we take care of your order-related customer service inquiries and your returns, too.
You can also choose to fulfill orders on your own but leverage Walmart for returns. This program is ideal if you don’t want returned items sent back to you and don’t require specialty return services.
Did you know?
Around 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart store. With both WFS and Returns with Walmart, customers can choose to return items by mail or in-person at any Walmart location—so they’re easy for you and your customers.
Replacement rules
Offer customers a replacement item instead of a full refund. This preserves your sales while boosting satisfaction and supporting stronger long-term business growth.
Sometimes it’s more cost-effective to let customers keep an item and process a refund than it is to pay a return shipping fee.
With Keep It, you’ll offer a full refund for non-resalable or cost-prohibitive items (for example, a $10 item that costs $8 to reverse-ship and $2 to inspect and restock).
Partial Keep It allows you to offer a partial refund, which acts like a discount for an item that’s slightly different than described or has light cosmetic damage.
The Keep It and Partial Keep It programs are heavily vetted through our fraud prevention AI models.
In closing
As you wrap up year-end sales and build your plan for the year ahead, now’s the perfect time to get ahead of common return drivers and set yourself up for success. Make the most of the solutions available to you as a Walmart seller to simplify the returns process, reduce costs, and keep your customers happy.
Your Privacy Choices
