Major online retailer Zalando has announced a partnership with Poste Italiane to make return shipments easier for all customers in Italy.
Italian customers ordering online on Zalando.it can now return their orders at over 12,000 post offices, more than 3,000 Punto Poste, which consist of tobacconists and affiliated stores, and 350 lockers spread throughout the country.
A Netcomm study shows that seven out of ten Italian online retailers consider the simple return of items to be a key factor in online shopping. Zalando has therefore added this option to an already available service that allows customers to book a home collection of their parcels at their preferred address. Zalando is constantly on the lookout for solutions to remove barriers to online shopping and create a unique customer experience by adapting to different and increasingly dynamic lifestyles.
Therefore, with the new return option, which has reached an average adoption rate of over 50% in markets where it is offered along with other methods, Zalando customers can decide how and when to return their products, for example the way to the office, on the way home in the evening or on Saturdays.
"We are excited to partner up with such an important operator as Poste Italiane," said Riccardo Vola, Director Southern Europe and Gift Cards at Zalando. "As our customers' desires evolve, so do we. At Zalando we see our customers not only as online shoppers, but as individuals with busy private and professional lives and changing priorities. By offering this additional and flexible return management solution, we are taking another step forward in bringing the changing room to our Italian customers' homes, with the ultimate goal of becoming the so-called ‘Starting Point for Fashion."
Moreover, the agreement is in line with Zalando's strategy to offer Italian customers more convenience. At the same time, it leverages Poste Italiane’s strategy to improve online shopping logistics services through partnerships with key players in Europe, technological investments and the development of services tailored to the needs of e-shoppers and online distributors.
All in all, Italy is an important market for Zalando. It has continued investing in the steady improvement of services offered to customers. This is best shown by the construction of two fulfillment centers, which are fundamental to bringing Zalando's offer to Italian and Southern European customers. Other innovative services include deferred payments that allow the customer to pay only when they choose which items they want to keep, a one-hundred-day free return policy, and the option of trying items in the comfort of their own homes.
