Outdoor gear retailer REI has been at the forefront of recommerce, creating a successful channel by viewing returns not as a cost center but a revenue driver. It also helps REI achieve its sustainability goals while also spurring growth. Matthew Bergerson, REI’s DVP of returns and circular economy, talks about the company’s views on reverse logistics, circularity, sustainability and its customer ethos.
Recommerce platform Trove has raised $30 million in a Series E round, bringing its total haul to more than $150 million as integrates its software with major 3PLs, eyes European expansion and plans to add vertical categories later this year beyond its sweet spot of outdoor and luxury retailers and brands. Trove powers recommerce for Carhartt, lululemon, Patagonia, REI, Allbirds and Levi Strauss.
In recent years, a new wave of non-traditional, alt-commerce models has emerged, challenging our assumptions about consumer purchasing and preferences. Alt-commerce represents a radical shift in the way people buy and sell products. Innovation and technological advances, coupled with the need to foster closer customer relationships, have given rise to new selling channels.
Outdoor retailer giant and sustainability market leader REI announced plans to open a new circular Re/Supply location in Clackamas, Oregon in late August 2023. The new store follows REI’s Re/Supply store in Manhattan Beach, California, which opened in 2020. The new store location will feature lightly used gear and apparel that REI receives through its returns and trade-in programs.
Secondhand clothing has come a long way since the days of the community thrift store as quick-acting brands have positioned themselves to capture some of the $100B global recommerce market. … Continue Reading →
Outdoor co-op REI, high-end outdoor apparel/gear brand Arc’teryx, fashion brand Amour Vert, running supplier On and luxury brand Philip Lim stood out in the first recommerce leaders index compiled by Trove, as the growing category has added an estimated 100 programs in the past year.
Shoppers love try before you buy (TBYB), a growing strategy that lets them order multiple items and send most of it back. It can boost ecommerce sales but also balloon return rates. So how do you take advantage of the TBYB opportunity while escaping the potential pitfalls that can kill your margins? An expert panel explains how.
Nearly all supply chain managers responding to a recent survey by Convey and eft Supply Chain and Logistics Business Intelligence said they consider customer experience to be important when measuring last-mile performance, while two-thirds of them say they’re held accountable for standard customer experience KPIs.
Designed for web-first, monolithic commerce platforms are generally hardwired to their desktop and mobile front ends, and are not designed for contextual device or use case specific experiences now expected of them. Enter microservices architecture, solving the pain of legacy architecture and siloed systems. Here’s how it works.
Nearly a year after signaling changes, iconic outdoor clothing manufacturer L.L. Bean is now limiting its returns window to a year after purchase and requiring proof of purchase. See why the company made the move, and how some customers are reacting.