Where do your online returns go Aparna Mehta
Hi. My name is Aparna.
I am a shopaholic –
(Laughter)
and I’m addicted to online returns.
(Laughter)
Well, at least I was.
At one time, I had two or three
packages of clothing delivered to me
every other day.
I would intentionally buy the same item
in a couple different sizes
and many colors,
because I did not know
what I really wanted.
So I overordered, I tried things on,
and then I sent what didn’t work back.
Once my daughter was watching me
return some of those packages back,
and she said, “Mom,
I think you have a problem.”
(Laughter)
I didn’t think so.
I mean, it’s free shipping
and free returns, right?
(Laughter)
I didn’t even think twice about it,
until I heard a statistic
at work that shocked me.
You see, I’m a global solutions
director for top-tier retail,
and we were in a meeting
with one of my largest customers,
discussing how to streamline costs.
One of their biggest concerns
was managing returns.
Just this past holiday season alone,
they had 7.5 million pieces
of clothing returned to them.
I could not stop thinking about it.
What happens to all
these returned clothes?
So I came home and researched.
And I learned that every year,
four billion pounds of returned clothing
ends up in the landfill.
That’s like every resident in the US
did a load of laundry last night
and decided to throw it
in the trash today.
I was horrified.
I’m like, “Of all people,
I should be able to help prevent this.”
(Laughter)
My job is to find solutions
to logistical issues like these –
not create them.
So this issue became very personal to me.
I said, “You know what?
We have to solve this.”
And we can, with some of the existing
systems we already have in place.
And then I started to wonder:
How did we get here?
I mean, it was only like six years ago
when a study recommended
that offering free online returns
would drive customers to spend more.
We started seeing companies
offering free online returns
to drive more sales
and provide a better experience.
What we didn’t realize
is that this would lead to more items
being returned as well.
In the US, companies lost
$351 billion in sales
in 2017 alone.
Retailers are scrambling
to recover their losses.
They try to place that returned item
online to be sold again,
or they’ll sell it to a discount partner
or a liquidator.
Basically, if companies cannot find
a place for this item
quickly and economically,
its place becomes the trash.
Suddenly, I felt very guilty
for being that shopper,
somebody who contributes to this.
Who would have thought
my innocent shopping behavior
would be hurting not only me,
but our planet as well?
And as I thought about what to do,
I kept thinking:
Why does the item have to be returned
to the retailer in the first place?
What if there was another way,
a win-win for everyone?
What if when a person
is trying to return something,
it could go to the next
shopper who wants it,
and not the retailer?
What if, instead of a return,
they could do what I call a “green turn”?
Consumers could use an app
to take pictures of the item
and verify the condition
while returning it.
Artificial intelligence systems could then
sort these clothes by condition –
mint condition or slightly used –
and direct it to the next
appropriate person.
Mint-condition clothes could
automatically go to the next buyer,
while slightly used clothes
could be marked down
and offered online again.
The retailer can decide the business rules
on the number of times
a particular item can be resold.
All that the consumer would need to do
is obtain a mobile code,
take it to the nearest shipping place
to be packed and shipped,
and off it goes from
one buyer to the next,
not the landfill.
Now you will ask,
“Would people really
go through all this trouble?”
I think they would if they had incentives,
like loyalty points or cash back.
Let’s call it “green cash.”
There would be a whole
new opportunity to make money
from this new customer base
looking to buy these returns.
This system would make
a fun thing like shopping
a spiritual experience
that helps save our planet.
(Applause)
This is doable
and would probably take six months
to weave some of our existing systems
and run a pilot.
Even before any of these
logistical systems are in place,
each of us shoppers can act now,
if every single adult in the US
made a few small changes
to our shopping behavior.
Take the extra time
to research and think –
Do I really need this item?
No: Do I really want this item? –
before making a purchase.
And if every one of us adults in the US
returned five less items this year,
we would keep 240 million pounds
of clothes out of the landfill.
Six percent reduction, just like that.
This environmental problem
that we have created
is not thousands of years away;
it’s happening today,
and must stop now to prevent growing
landfills across the globe.
I want to leave my daughter
and my daughter’s daughter
a better and cleaner place
than I found it,
so I have not only stopped overordering,
I recycle religiously as well.
And you can, too. It’s not difficult.
Before we fill our shopping carts
and our landfills
with extra items that we don’t want,
let’s pause next time
we are shopping online
and think twice about what we all
hopefully really do want:
a beautiful Earth to call home.
Thank you.
(Applause)