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Summary of diving:
- A spokesperson for the e-commerce giant told Supply Chain Dive in an emailed statement that Amazon recently began offering home delivery from the US Postal Service for select customer returns.
- Launched this summer, the feature is currently available to some customers for eligible items. A spokesperson said: “We are always listening to customers and looking for ways to make returns easier.”
- While Amazon didn’t specify how much the service covers, Third Party CEO and founder Matthew Hertz said in a LinkedIn post that USPS return pickup was available for his Amazon order in Nashville, Tennessee. The free pickup required a box and label.
Diving Insights:
According to a 2024 report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General, returns services could become an important part of USPS’s business as it looks to turn around its poor financial results. In fiscal year 2023, the agency received $665 million in revenue from 132 million returned packages.
“Given the significant growth of the reverse logistics business, there may be additional opportunities for USPS to increase its share of the reverse logistics market and increase its revenues from this line of business,” the report said.
For Amazon, the additional return option comes as it prepares for the peak shipping season and the expected wave of post-holiday returns. According to the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, retailers predict 17 percent of 2025 holiday sales will be returned, a notch higher than the 15.8 percent of total annual sales projected to be returned this year.
Amazon still has a variety of return options for customers beyond USPS pickup, including return options at Staples, Whole Foods and UPS store locations.
“Four out of five Amazon customers in the US have access to at least one of our more than 8,000 delivery locations, with the option of label-free returns and box-free shipping within 5 miles of their home,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
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