Kohl's stopping Amazon returns at some stores as a test

(NEXSTAR) — Online shopping can seem easy on the surface until you learn the item you ordered isn't quite right and you need to send it back.

Unless you're lucky enough to earn a "returnless refund," returning an item purchased online will frequently require figuring out how to ship it and leaving the comfort of your home — the antithesis of online shopping.

For those with a Kohl's store near them, returning an Amazon order has been vastly less challenging than trying to repack the item, taking it to a package carrier, and hoping that you labeled it correctly.

The Wisconsin-based retailer began accepting Amazon returns in October 2017, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Two years later, it was available in all but one store — Kohl's in Anchorage, Alaska.

That will soon change, with Kohl's testing out removing Amazon returns services at some stores.

In a statement shared with Nexstar after story publication, Kohl's said, "To continue to learn from our customers, we are conducting a test in a handful of our stores where we will be temporarily discontinuing the third-party returns service. Kohl's has a test and learn culture that helps us to evolve our store experience and stay informed about customers' expectations and preferences."

The company did not share how long the test would run and the specific stores impacted.

Kohl's employees confirmed to Modern Retail that stores in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Washington, Missouri; and Leominster, Massachusetts are part of the test. As of Tuesday, the store information pages for all three locations still list Amazon returns as an available service.

While Kohl's did not immediately respond to Nexstar's request for additional information, some Reddit users claiming to be employees expressed support for the move.

"I hope they do this overall, Amazon is a headache and can't be worth it with the amount of work and man hours it takes to do it," a user wrote on a post from February when impacted stores were reportedly notified of the change.

"All those Amazon hours would be better spent on just about anything," another user added.

The move could also prove financially beneficial for Kohl's, which has experienced sagging sales as of late.

Earlier this year, Kohl's announced it would close nearly 30 underperforming stores by April.

“As we continue to build on our long-term growth strategy, it is important that we also take difficult but necessary actions to support the health and future of our business for our customers and our teams," Tom Kingsbury, then the CEO of Kohl’s, said at the time. Ashley Buchanan, former Michaels CEO and a retail veteran, has since taken over for Kingsbury, who is retiring in May.

Kohl's, like other retailers, has had a challenging few years as consumers continue to seek out deals online.

Macy's also announced in January that it would close more than 60 stores as part of a strategy to shutter counterproductive locations while upgrading others through 2026. Dollar General recently confirmed it would close nearly 100 stores.

Several other retailers are closing stores this year. That includes JOANN and Forever 21, which intend to close all of their locations after filing for bankruptcy.

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