PayPal Adds Staples to Its List of ‘Return Bars’ for Its Happy Returns Service

As part of its efforts to extend its contact with consumers and merchants beyond checkout, PayPal Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday that Staples Inc. has become the latest merchant partner to serve as a return center for its Happy Returns in-person return service. Staples will roll out the service at its more than 1,000 locations throughout October. 

Happy Returns, which PayPal acquired earlier this year, partners with merchants to accept in-person returns for e-commerce purchases and provide consumers with an immediate refund. Refunds are credited to the payment method used at the time of purchase. 

Serving as a return center can increase foot traffic, which can lead to acquiring new customers, PayPal says. With Happy Returns, consumers do not need to bring the box the item was shipped in or a receipt to initiate an in-person return.

In 2020, consumers in the United States returned goods worth $428 billion, or more than 10% of all purchased goods. About a quarter of those returns were items purchased on e-commerce sites. The high frequency of returns, especially for e-commerce purchases, is prompting many consumers to favor in-person return options, as they do not have to repackage the item for return shipping, says PayPal.

“A strong and seamless return offering can lead to greater conversion for merchants, and Happy Returns allows us to offer our partners cost-effective ways to address the increase in returns across the retail landscape and better serve their customers,” a PayPal spokesperson says by email. “We’re also expanding how we support consumers beyond checkout.”

The partnership with Staples increases the number of Happy Returns return centers, which PayPal has designated as Return Bars, to more than 3,800 locations across the U.S. With the addition of Staples, 75% of Americans now live within a 10-mile radius of a Happy Returns location, according to PayPal.

In addition to Staples, merchants serving as return bars include FedEx, Cost Plus World Market, and Paper Source. In total, the service claims hundreds of merchant partners, and will close out 2021 with double the number of merchants that participated in 2020, according to PayPal. 

To initiate a return, consumers visit HappyReturns.com to receive a QR code. Next, they bring to the return bar only the items to be returned—no box or receipt required—plus the QR code. Returns can typically be completed in less than a minute and are approved in real time. Returns from multiple merchants are aggregated into a single shipment in a reusable tote, reducing the shipping cost for merchants and increasing the sustainability of the process by eliminating cardboard, PayPal says.

“The way in which consumers shop and return items is fast changing,” Craig Grayson, vice president, print and marketing services, at Staples US Retail, says in a prepared statement. “Staples is a destination for all things shipping, especially for small businesses and remote workers. This partnership is a natural fit for us.”