Ireland’s most innovative logistics business has launched a service to make process of returning goods bought online even easier for Ireland’s consumers.
Coll-8 has declared that the paperless system – part of its drop2shop platform – is quicker and more convenient than those of its competitors.
It allows shoppers to send unwanted purchases back to retailers via the network of market- leading convenience stores operated by one of the country’s leading retail and wholesale businesses, BWG Foods.
Coll-8’s Chief Operations Officer, Dave Field, has boasted that the returns operation will prove invaluable with the annual peak for e-commerce returns only weeks away.
“Even before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, an average of 10 per cent of goods bought online were returned. For some fashion items, the figure is in fact more than 50 per cent.
“That figure is likely to have increased this year because the coronavirus pandemic has meant consumers having to buy before they try as stores and store changing rooms have remained closed.
“Given that the annual peak for returns is reached in the days after Christmas, as unwanted gifts are sent back, we reckon that the drop2shop system is going to have significant benefits for consumers and retailers alike in the weeks ahead.
“What we have is a service which makes the process straightforward. People don’t have to visit out of town shopping centres or post offices but can rely on the local convenience store where so many do so much of their shopping.
“There’s no confusion about which label to use either as it’s all done using a secure QR code sent to their mobile ‘phones.
“Shoppers can also track returns, so they know when goods have arrived back with retailers and, of course, when they might expect refunds.”
The drop2shop system devised by Coll-8 operates through Ireland’s largest network of convenience stores and its market-leading brands, including SPAR, MACE, Londis and XL.
Mr Field said that drop2shop had already proven to be a “critical complement” to existing courier services.