Target asserts abuse of return policy in Update

Not only is the wording new (Business Insider has covered Target’s return policy closely over the years), but neither the words “fraud” nor “abuse” appear in an archived version of the company’s return policy as of now a month.

A Target spokesperson told BI that while the communication on this point is new, the policy itself has not changed, including the one-year support for all private products.

Still, while the rules may not be new, the clarification sets the company up to potentially apply them more strictly and consistently.

Return fraud is indeed a worrisome issue for retailers in the industry, with the National Retail Federation estimating return losses of $101 billion last year.

But the abuse side of the coin has a more unique Bullseye dimension: the trend of shoppers returning piles of used Cat & Jack baby clothes for cash. As one of Target’s most popular store brands (selling over $3 billion a year), Cat & Jack products are backed by a one-year satisfaction guarantee that some customers push to its conceptual limits.

Users of the r/Target subreddit welcomed the new language, saying it will help service desk employees deal with difficult customers.

Indeed, a popular euphemism for dirty and destroyed clothing is “well-loved,” and grass-stained T-shirts and pants with blown knees from a year on the playground don’t exactly suggest defective merchandise.

“These are people who are admitting on social media that they were actually pretty happy, but they just find a loophole in this return policy,” H Squared Research’s chief retail analyst Hitha Herzog previously told BI. “If the return policy allows you to do that, I think you can. But ethically, should we? I wouldn’t do it.”

Now with this latest update, Target seems to be saying “Please don’t.”

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