The retailer is now giving consumers the ability to use their smartphones to conduct these transactions from their cars.
While returns and exchanges are typically considered to be the average part of a daily operation for most retailers, Sears has decided to try to use m-commerce in order to improve the convenience of the experience for its own customers.
It has just announced the expansion of a service that is targeted toward its mobile shoppers.
This will allow those shoppers to be able to use an m-commerce tool to be able to exchange or return items without ever having to get out of their cars. The concept behind this program is that a shopper that has an item to be returned or exchanged and who also has a smartphone will be able to complete the desired transaction without actually having to get out of the vehicle and walk into the store location.
Instead, the m-commerce app is used to communicate with the store and allow them to have the service brought to them.
This exchange and return mobile shopping service functions as follows. At home, the customer can log onto the Sears website (on a computer, tablet, or smartphone) and enter the information with regards to the return or exchange that they would like to make. For example, they can choose to simply return an item that they have previously purchased, or they can decide to return it in exchange for something else – a different size, color, or entirely separate product, for example.
The shopper can then drive to the store and park in a designated part of the parking lot that is meant for item pick-ups. Once safely parked, they can use their smartphone or tablet to open up the Sears app and click on the in-vehicle pickup option.
While this does seem quite straightforward, initial reviews of the service have stated that it is not actually as easy to find and use as they had hoped. On the website, the option is not yet easy to find, a the customer must navigate through the customer service tab, look into the return and exchange location. From there, however, the forms to complete online are quite direct and self explanatory. Once parked at the store, the Shop Your Way m-commerce app must be opened and the “Shop’In & Stores” tab must be selected from among the various options. It is in that location that the in-vehicle pickup button can be found among other choices.
