The beginning of 2024 was marked by a rapid intensification of retail competition, with three of the giants attempting to outdo one another in an effort to attract more sales.
Those big three, of course, are Amazon (AMZN) , Walmart (WMT) , and Target (TGT) , and comprise the three biggest consumer brick and mortar retailers in the United States, unless you count more specialty stores like Costco (COST) and Home Depot (HD) .
Related: Walmart launches 2 popular new brands customers will love
Let's assume for the moment, though, that we're talking about brick and mortar retailers that cater to the average American shopper's everyday needs. If you're looking for anything from bandages to vitamins, wrapping paper to camping equipment, pet supplies to personal care, chances are, you're shopping at one of the big three.
In March, Target launched its own version of a paid membership program, called Target Circle 360. The plan is open to anyone who joins, offering free and fast shippin for $99 per year.
Target Circle 360, launching April 7, will include the following benefits:
- Unlimited free same-day delivery for select orders over $35
- As little as one-hour delivery on select items
- Free two-day shipping
- Access to Shipt's "preferred shoppers" program
This service, of course, is meant to compete with Amazon Prime and Walmart+.
Amazon Prime offers members the following benefits:
- $139 per year
- Free shipping and returns, often two-day or next-day on eligible items
- Access to Prime Video streaming
- Savings at Whole Foods Market
- Access to the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
- Access to Amazon Fresh grocery stores
- Try Before You Buy shopping
- Amazon Photos storage
Walmart+ offers the following benefits:
- $98 per year
- Free store delivery
- Free shipping and returns on eligible items
- Fuel savings at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart and Murphy gas stations
- Included Paramount+ streaming subscription
- Limited auto maintenance at Walmart Auto Care Centers
- Cash back on select travel expenses
- Members-only prices during select promotions, like Black Friday
- Mobile shopping in-store
Walmart raises the rate of a key service
Since these retailers are constantly upping the ante as they try to entice customers through their doors, it's natural that most shoppers would expect those perks to hold firm.
It's something of an unfathomable nightmare that Amazon would ever consider revoking its free two-day shipping, for example.
But in a late March update, Walmart quietly revised one of its return policies.
In its March Seller Digest, Walmart updated customers that it would increase the price of shipping rates for orders placed via a third party seller, meaning somebody other than Walmart had fulfilled the initial order.
"Based on changing market conditions, Walmart is updating return shipping rates for seller-fulfilled orders. To avoid paying for return shipping, you can add a Keep It Rule for unwanted returns, which now allows customers to keep their items and receive a refund when they initiate returns online or in Walmart stores," Walmart wrote.
A spokesperson for Walmart said the price increase, though not published publicly, would be nominal.
The price hike marks the first price increase to the return policy in approximately two years.
Returns are largely a benefit retailers incur in order to keep customers happy, but they're notoriously expensive and logistically taxing. Oftentimes large retailers offer lengthy and forgiving return policies. Target and Walmart honor a 90-day return policy for unopened goods, while Amazon accepts returns within 30 days of purchase.
Online shopping has only ballooned the return phenomena, as shoppers tend to buy more and can often return something without needing to go into a physical store and queue in line (Amazon famously processes returns via Whole Foods kiosks, as well as via UPS and several other fulfillers).
But taking on and processing millions of returns each year offers little upside to most retailers.
“Sometimes it’s more cost-effective for Marketplace sellers to let customers keep an item and process the refund than it is to pay a return shipping fee,” Walmart writes.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
