Kohl’s has stopped accepting Amazon returns at some store locations
Kohl’s has stopped accepting Amazon returns at select retail locations, Modern Retail has learned.
Store associates at Kohl’s retail locations in Leominster, Massachusetts; Washington, Missouri and Eau Claire, Wisconsin confirmed over the phone that those particular stores are no longer accepting Amazon returns. Previously, Kohl’s accepted Amazon returns at all 1,100 store locations in the U.S. except Anchorage, Alaska, per Kohl’s corporate website, which has not been updated to reflect the updated policy.
A company spokesperson also confirmed the policy change in an email to Modern Retail. The spokesperson did not answer specific questions, such as exactly how many retail locations are impacted or how long the policy change will last. The spokesperson said it was a temporary test.
“To continue to learn from our customers, we are conducting a test in a handful of our stores where we will be temporarily discontinuing the third-party returns service,” the Kohl’s spokesperson said. “Kohl’s has a test and learn culture that helps us to evolve our store experience and stay informed about customers expectations and preferences.”
One store worker told Modern Retail the change went into effect on Tuesday for their retail location in Massachusetts. Another store employee said Kohl’s is redirecting Amazon customers to The UPS Store for returns. Kohl’s employees posted about the revised policy on social media, including Reddit.
Amazon returns at Kohl’s stores were supposed to save the ailing retailer when the partnership was announced in 2019, expanding a pilot program both companies started two years prior. Cheap and easy returns for Amazon’s massive customer base would drive foot traffic to Kohl’s storefronts, and in turn, boost sales, which the retailer desperately needed.
But the Wisconsin-based retailer never reaped the rewards. While Amazon’s sales have soared, Kohl’s same-store sales have declined for 12 straight quarters, according to company filings. In other words, Amazon hasn’t been enough to drive overall sales growth at Kohl’s.
Kohl’s, which has been struggling with dwindling sales for years, has repeatedly pinned its turnaround hopes on collaborations with unlikely companies to spark sales growth. Those partnerships have included Sephora and, more recently, Instacart and Babies R Us, as Modern Retail previously reported.
Amazon has hatched similar collaborations with brick-and-mortar retailers including Staples and The UPS Store. While these collaborations have made returns more convenient for Amazon customers, the benefits for its retail partners remain unclear. In Kohl’s case, the expected boost in foot traffic and sales never seemed to have materialized, and the potential end of Amazon returns at its stores signals that the partnership did not live up to expectations.
In interviews and earnings calls, Kohl’s has generally pointed to key success metrics related to its partnership with Amazon. In 2021, the company said it had gained 2 million new customers from its Amazon partnership. But mentions of Amazon on Kohl’s earnings calls have noticeably dropped off. The last time Kohl’s executives mentioned in-store Amazon returns was during the fourth-quarter earnings call for 2022, when an analyst asked for an update on the Amazon partnership.
Jill Timm, Kohl’s CFO, reiterated that in-store Amazon returns were one of several ways the retailer was looking to boost foot traffic to stores. “We’re really going to just continue to be focused on all of our initiatives to drive traffic, and Amazon is obviously one of those key items, Sephora being another one,” Timm said at the time.
Meanwhile, the endless deluge of Amazon returns has weighed on Kohl’s store employees, slowing operations without boosting sales, as The Washington Post previously reported. Indeed, in a subreddit dedicated to Kohl’s employees, store workers rejoiced in response to a post from a store associate saying the retailer was testing ending Amazon in-store returns. One user commented, “I hope they do this overall, Amazon is a headache and can’t be worth it with the amount of work and man hours it takes to do it.” Another wrote, “I will literally die from happiness if this is true. Please let this be true.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a comment from Kohl’s, which was sent to Modern Retail after this story was published.
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