We’re sure you’ve dealt with this problem before – you go on a virtual fashion shopping spree from the comfort of your own home, and despite your meticulous selection process, it turns out that none of the items fit. Returning the order can be a bother, but what if you could speed up the process by trying on the items before the courier leaves? Soon, you’ll be able to do that, more or less – DPD has just opened fitting rooms at their parcel pickup centers.
The idea is simple – right after picking up their package, consumers will be able to try on their order in a special fitting room, and, if the items turn out not to match their expectations, return them right afterwards. Currently, the fitting rooms are available in Parcel Pickup Centers in Warsaw, Katowice, Gdansk, and Wroclaw, but DPD is expecting to expand the project to more areas in the near future.
But why is the prospect attractive for a parcel service provider? The trend of online order returns has been found to propel the courier industry. With each coming month, the number of returned, “tried-on”, orders rises by around 50 percent – states Rafał Nawłoka, CEO of DPD Polska. By giving the customers an opportunity to take care of the matters right on the spot, the company is able to take the prospect of a future errand of their back.
Online order returns are getting more and more popular with Polish consumers – we’re getting used to the increasingly efficient return processes of online retailers, who have finally started perceiving returning items as a standard practice. According to the E-Barometr study, back in 2016, only 4 percent of online orders were being returned, while in 2017, the amount rose to 7 percent. These numbers are only expected to go up in the future, as many of the online stores have started offering free returns, further promoting the idea of ordering items “just to try them out”. This can be already observed with the example of Zalando, which enables their clients to return their orders for up to 100 days after the purchase, free of charge – the retailer observes as many as 50% of their orders being returned at least partially.
For more information about the service, feel free to check out DPD’s website.
