Why returns are becoming a bigger focus for TikTok Shop and DoorDash

In September, DoorDash announced that it was adding retail returns to the platform. It’s not the cheapest returns service — customers have to pay a $7.99 return fee — but convenience is the big selling point here. DoorDash will dispatch a driver to pick up the return in as little as 30 minutes, meaning customers don’t have to pack and return the order themselves. The service is currently live in select cities and expected to roll out nationwide in November. 

Meanwhile, TikTok Shop announced a new integration with Happy Returns, giving customers another way to return items. If a brand or retailer on TikTok Shop opts to accept returns through Happy Returns, customers can send back an item by dropping it off in person at one of 10,000 nationwide locations. 

“Our collaboration with Happy Returns builds on our commitment to making the returns experience faster, hassle-free and more trustworthy for our shoppers,” Patrick Nommenson, TikTok Shop’s president of strategic initiatives, said in a press release. 

As both of these platforms look to take a bigger role in commerce, it’s not a surprise that they are focusing on ease of returns. Brad Jashinsky, director analyst at Gartner, said the Gartner Consumer Omnibus Survey from earlier this year found that a good returns policy is cited by 35% of U.S. consumers as the reason they chose a particular shopping platform. 

And U.S. consumers have been trained to expect easy returns, largely thanks to Amazon. “I think that’s another reason why Amazon has been able to grow so fast,” Jashinsky said. It’s the friendly return policy — combined with other perks, like fast shipping — that helps cement the perception for some shoppers that Amazon is a “consumer-friendly” website. 

Over the past few years, TikTok Shop has grown from a pandemic-era novelty to a major force in U.S. e-commerce. Last year, it was widely reported that TikTok Shop is now larger than eBay in terms of e-commerce GMV, and over the past year, the platform has added larger retailers like Ulta and Best Buy.  

Meanwhile, DoorDash has been on a mission for a while to position itself as not just a food delivery platform but rather as a mall in your pocket. In September, DoorDash added Macy’s, Anthropologie, The North Face, Vans and Timberland to its retail marketplace. 

Jashinsky added that clearly communicating ease of returns also helps retailers win over more business. 

“A strong return policy — and actually shouting that from the rooftops, or at least shouting that in your cart checkout and on your product page — has translated into better conversion rates for a lot of retailers we work with,” Jashinsky said.

What we’ve covered

Target’s holiday push stresses affordability, exclusives and an AI agent 

Target executives talked up the company’s supply chain capabilities during a presentation last week promoting its holiday offerings. Target is promoting an ethos of “luxe for less,” according to senior reporter Julia Waldow, who attended the event. 

Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer Cara Sylvester spoke, for example, about how the retailer was able to develop a $48 cashmere sweater this year. “As we think about our decades of sourcing and design capabilities, that enables us to have strategic partnerships with our suppliers, to be able to find the right product, really lean into that fabric, and then get the right cost and pricing for our guests,” she said.

How brands are juggling new marketplaces this holiday season

For this week’s Big-Box Briefing (exclusively for Modern Retail+ subscribers), I spoke with a couple of brands about how they are juggling more marketplaces this holiday season, as retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Nordstrom recruit more third-party sellers for their websites. Marketplace success, unsurprisingly, often comes down to top-notch inventory management. 

Monil Kothari, founder of jewelry brand Haus of Brilliance, said that “having a really good operational foundation goes such a long way, especially when you have two-day ship times and incredible volume.” Haus of Brilliance sells through Amazon, Target and Nordstrom, to name a few marketplaces. As Kothari explained, “We might have 10 units of a piece on Black Friday — nine might sell, and if your inventory doesn’t update and reflect that it’s now one, it shows another 10 units available. … Our systems move very fast.”

What we’re reading

• Hydro Flask maker aims tariff refunds at inventory, packaging  – Supply Chain Dive 
• As Americans eat out less, paper towel maker Essity feels the pinch – Reuters 
• Chocolate is getting worse – New York Magazine