Zappos.com has added a new way for customers to make returns – at Whole Foods.
Called “Label Free Box Free Returns,” Zappos said in a press release that the service is billed as Amazon’s goal of making buying online and return “as easy and hassle-free as possible.” Amazon is the parent company to both Zappos and Whole Foods.
Here’s how it works: Customers start their return in their Zappos account to see if their order qualifies to be returned at any Whole Foods Market. If available, the Label Free Box Free option will appear.
Next, customers can bring their items in their original packaging (like a shoe box) to a local Whole Foods Market. At the store, customers should then locate the return drop-off point either at the customer service desk or pickup & return kiosk, and then show an associate their return code, and the employee will take care of the rest.
Zappos.com CEO Scott Schaefer said in a statement that as customer needs evolve, the company aims to evolve with them. “With Label Free Box Free Returns, we’re excited to not only be better serving our customers, but also to have found a natural partner in Whole Foods Market—you might say, it’s a Whole new kind of relationship for us,” Schaefer said.
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Schaefer, who took over as acting CEO at Zappos.com in December 2021, was named permanent CEO of the company in April. Since taking the reins, Schaefer has doubled down on his leadership vision, anchored in “experience, efficiencies, energy and each other” — a reference to Zappos’s famous company culture, built around its 10 core values.
At the FN CEO Summit in August, Schaefer spoke about his leadership vision in depth. And while he didn’t mention this launch specifically, he did mention that the company was focused on automation, process improvement and other operational efficiencies. “Moving forward, we’re doubling down on our customer,” Schaefer said at the Summit. “We are starting to build on our logistics by working more with Amazon to get closer to customers.”
