Missguided makes returns easier with new inPost service

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 24, 2021

We’re constantly being told that making returns easier is one of the keys to boosting online shopping, so it's interesting that InPost and Missguided announced on Wednesday a new returns concept that should do just that.

The online retailer has linked up with the delivery company for a service called Instant Returns. It means shoppers can return items by using a QR code on their phone, without the need for any printed labels.

And they can use it 24/7 with the returns label being replaced by the QR code that is scanned at the returns locker, also making it completely self-service and ultra quick.

InPost said such a service has huge value as research that it commissioned among 2,000 UK adults found a big problem around printing returns labels. 

The fact is that many shoppers don’t have access to printers at home to print these labels, including as many as 44% of digitally native Gen Z and Millennials. Lots of consumers probably printed returns labels at work pre-pandemic, but with working from home now the norm for so many of them, access to a printer isn't always easy.

Some 66% of this younger cohort would rather use a code that can be scanned on their phone than put a physical label on their parcel.

And keeping them happy is particularly important given that 86% of online shoppers say a poor returns experience will put them off shopping with a retailer again. Around half complain about too much paperwork and admin with most returns. 

And an increasing number are also focused on the environmental impact of delivery and returns. InPost said the new service is an industry first and is also green as it saves paper and ink. 

Missguided, which has seen sales increase by 200% during the pandemic, is one of the first UK retailers to introduce the new service to its customers.

Nick Bamber, Chief Growth Officer at the e-tailer said the new service is all about giving customers more choice when it comes to returns and keeping things very simple and convenient, which is important given how much of the shopping experience is already on their mobiles.