Following an 11-store pilot program that began in April, Cost Plus World Market will host Happy Returns Return Bars in all 276 of its locations by the end of September. This expansion will nearly double the total number of Return Bars, to more than 700 locations in 143 metro areas nationwide.
The Return Bars allow consumers to return products from Happy Returns’ retail partners, which include Rothy’s, UNTUCKit, Everlane, Eloquii and Draper James, in person without needing a box or label.
“We’re eager to expand our partnership with Happy Returns to all our stores nationwide,” said Jack Schwefel, CEO of Cost Plus World Market in a statement. “Through the innovative Happy Returns solution, online shoppers with returns are finding a delightful experience that increases our store traffic and drives new World Market customers.”
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Happy Returns has experienced strong recent growth, including a 10X increase in the number of returns the company handled between June 2018 and June 2019 and the opening of an East Coast return hub facility. “Our goal is to exit this year with around 1,000 Return Bars,” said CEO and Co-Founder David Sobie in an August 2019 interview with Retail TouchPoints. The company raised $11 million in a funding round in April 2019 that included a strategic investment from PayPal, and has raised a total of $25 million since its founding in 2015.
