Mall returns bar startup Happy Returns has received an $11 million investment led by PayPal Holdings Inc., the venture arm of the payment solution company, with both pledging to work together to reduce reverse logistics friction for merchants.
The investment gives PayPal an ownership stake in the four-year-old company, and will help Happy Returns toward its aggressive goal of growing its base from 350 returns bar locations to 1,000 by the end of the year. Larger names among its 25 retail clients include Everlane, Eloquii, UNTUCKit, Sur Le Table and Cost Plus World Markets.
“Our mission is to make returns more delightful for consumers, more cost-effective for retailers and more sustainable for the planet,” said David Sobie, co-founder and CEO at Happy Returns in a statement. “We’re thrilled to work with PayPal to make the process of returning more seamless for shoppers and our service more broadly available to PayPal’s large network of merchants.”
Last month Happy Returns announced it was in the process of creating in-store kiosks where retailers can let customers do self-service returns, with a number of major chains kicking the tires as a possible launch partner. The intent of the kiosks, in the demo stage, is to reduce the burden on store associates of processing returns and shipping or routing returned inventory.