Walmart revamps return process for online purchases
Walmart is rolling out a new in-store return process for online purchases that aims to leverage its mobile app alongside its massive brick-and-mortar footprint.
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The Mobile Express lane will allow shoppers to bypass the wait line at the in-store customer service desk to return items bought from Walmart.com.
The process requires that shoppers log on to Walmart's mobile app, where they generate a QR code for the return transaction. Once inside of a store, shoppers scan the QR code on a card reader in the Mobile Express lane and hand the merchandise over to a Walmart associate who completes the return.
The retail giant said the new return process is part of its broader app-based technology initiatives that include online grocery pickup and the newer Mobile Express Money service.
"By leveraging our physical stores and the Walmart app, we're changing the returns game in ways that only Walmart can do," said Daniel Eckert, SVP of Walmart Services and Digital Acceleration. "Throughout the year, we've added features to our app to make it an even more powerful, time-saving tool for our customers shopping online and in our stores; Mobile Express Returns is our latest enhancement."
At launch, Mobile Express will only accept items bought online, but Walmart said it plans to expand the program to include in-store purchases in early 2018. The service will also expand next year to cover items bought from third-party sellers on Walmart's online marketplace.
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