Kohl's moving Amazon Return Desks

[ClownLoach]

Kohl's is moving the Amazon Return desk away from the customer service counter and they are putting them alone in the furthest back corners of the store. Now you have to go through the entire building to make an Amazon return which is much more inconvenient, but this is a pretty good answer for sales as you're more likely to find something to buy. I happened to find a great shirt I would have purchased but unfortunately it was a coupon exclusion and I was not going to pay full MSRP.

I notice that the counters are made of store table fixtures as well with new corporate printed "wraps" to create the illusion of an actual desk, and they also removed the entire self-service pickup area. I'm assuming that whatever space the Amazon operation took behind the service desk has made room for them to secure their pickup orders which could have been easily stolen before. I do wonder if this setup is to enable a switch in the future from Kohl's employees handling the returns to a 3rd party later.

The stores are looking a little more colorful now that they have installed some generic, brandless graphics on the walls where they used to hang merchandise up high. I saw many options in men's golf apparel that I liked, but the home department looked like something I'd expect at Goodwill with leftover Fall and Halloween merchandise still on inadequate markdown discounts.

[Alpha8472]

I already had to hunt through the store to find the Amazon return desk at my local Kohl's. You had to go up the escalators to the far corner of the store on the top level to find the Customer Service desk.

When the Amazon Return Desk first came out it was also a temporary table up on the top level hidden in the bedding department.

[storewanderer]

Some Kohls already have the customer service desk at the back corner of the store, they were built that way. I find it to be a bad layout. The later stores seemed to put it up front.

Previously all of the Kohls around me had the Amazon counter separate from the return desk (and it had a dedicated employee). Most in my area were in the middle of the back section of the store (home area at three stores, I forget what at the fourth).

Kohls spent much of the holiday season with one employee at the customer service area to handle Kohls-related returns and Amazon related returns and the lines were excessively long.

So this will actually be a labor investment for Kohls to start having one employee at customer service and one on Amazon again.

It is great they are taking the self pick up away, that just looked terrible. Plus the theft issue.

[mbz321]

The Kohl's in my area also had the Amazon return counter already near the back of the store,kind of in front of the 'self pick up' area, but not all the way in the back corner (customer service/returns was moved up front during some remodel). I can't recall what is in that back corner space now.

[Brian Lutz]

The Kohl's stores here in Greensboro don't even have the Amazon return counters. About the only options to return Amazon items here are through a UPS store or the Whole Foods. I very rarely return items anyway so I haven't tried either of those options.

[babs]

What I've noticed.is that the offer you get for returning something at Kohl's keeps going down in value. I used to go there to get a deal but now I'd rather go to Whole Foods that's closer to me.

[storewanderer]

The Kohl's stores here in Greensboro don't even have the Amazon return counters. About the only options to return Amazon items here are through a UPS store or the Whole Foods. I very rarely return items anyway so I haven't tried either of those options.

I heard somewhere they are adding a $1 fee to return via UPS Store? That is probably what the UPS Store Franchisee receives to "handle" the package.

I thought all Kohls had the counter, that is interesting. Are the stores undersized?

[ClownLoach]

The Kohl's stores here in Greensboro don't even have the Amazon return counters. About the only options to return Amazon items here are through a UPS store or the Whole Foods. I very rarely return items anyway so I haven't tried either of those options.

I heard somewhere they are adding a $1 fee to return via UPS Store? That is probably what the UPS Store Franchisee receives to "handle" the package.

I thought all Kohls had the counter, that is interesting. Are the stores undersized?

Kohl's has extensively discussed to investors that every single store, even small format, accept Amazon returns and they have a non compete so other department stores can't jump in. Are you sure they don't accept returns in Greensboro?

[storewanderer]

Went to a couple Kohls locations over the weekend.

Nothing has changed in my area. Amazon Returns are still at customer service. Self pick up areas are still present (one store had NO orders in it, another store had about 15 orders in it).

Both stores were basically empty of customers but meticulously neat and organized. They have far less inventory than I've ever seen them have, but they have it spread and organized well. One store even had the clearance racks organized in color order (and sizes were perfectly arranged too). Have not seen Kohls Stores look this organized in 20 years. But so few customers... and this was after an email blast with 40% off coupons sent out...

[ClownLoach]

Went to a couple Kohls locations over the weekend.

Nothing has changed in my area. Amazon Returns are still at customer service. Self pick up areas are still present (one store had NO orders in it, another store had about 15 orders in it).

Both stores were basically empty of customers but meticulously neat and organized. They have far less inventory than I've ever seen them have, but they have it spread and organized well. One store even had the clearance racks organized in color order (and sizes were perfectly arranged too). Have not seen Kohls Stores look this organized in 20 years. But so few customers... and this was after an email blast with 40% off coupons sent out...

Still at the back at mine. I wonder if they're still adjusting this model. I have noticed a substantial improvement in store condition in all apparel departments. Not so much household goods, kitchen electrics, decor which are consistently trashed and filled with comical clearance like last year's 4th of July decor which is almost relevant again if it wasn't shop worn to hell. I have found great clothes I want to buy, but magically every time it's full price and a coupon exclusion so it goes back to the rack and I leave empty handed. Well not quite empty handed, just with the coupon I couldn't redeem on anything I wanted.

This is one place where they need to take the "Ron Johnson" approach and simplify the living hell out of it. You like to be a coupon store? Then make the damned coupon work on everything. I don't care what that takes from a pricing and ticketing perspective but fix it so there isn't a single exclusion even if it means taking wacky things like a Kitchenaid mixer over MSRP and taping a coupon to every box to make the sale. Just accept that this is what's needed to be "the coupon and Kohl's Cash" store and at least it's straightforward to the customer who can at least predict what the total will be without the company cash register.

OR, kill the coupons because they cause more friction and frustration than anything else. I'm already in the store and you give me a coupon that turns out to be worth less than the paper it's printed on. Maybe I might find a polo shirt I fall in love with and have to buy... But once I find out that coupon doesn't apply that changes the interaction and makes me feel like I am being ripped off... The price after coupon, if it was accepted, might still be higher than I'm used to paying so emotion will have to overcome value to proceed. But when you are ticketing a brand name polo shirt at $69.99 and excluding the meager 20% off coupon, when the same brand sells a similar quality shirt either at Costco or their own outlet store for $20 to $25, it becomes harder to swallow the coupon exclusion and ultimately I buy nothing. I have made many Amazon returns there and they are currently batting zero on making a sale with the coupon or without.