DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy spurns regulators after failed iRobot deal: 'It's a sad story'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Thursday took aim at regulators who are increasingly blocking mergers, including the company's planned acquisition of robotic vacuum maker iRobot , which fell apart earlier this year amid antitrust concerns. "I think it's really kind of a sad story," Jassy said in an interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on "Squawk Box." Jassy said the move showed that regulators "trust these two large Chinese companies with maps of the inside of U.S. consumers' homes more than they do Amazon." As megadeals have slowed to a crawl, tech companies have made a flurry of investments in artificial intelligence startups, seeking to gain a foothold in the burgeoning market. When asked how Amazon is tackling returns fraud, Jassy said the company has teams charged with examining returned goods to make sure they're "appropriate."

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, iRobot, Anker, Ecovacs, Biden Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Big Tech, Microsoft, Regulators, FTC, Amazon, CNBC, National Retail Federation, Appriss Locations: U.S, China, OpenAI

☆ Refund fraud schemes promoted on TikTok, Telegram are costing Amazon and other retailers billions of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The following month, 10 men were indicted in Oklahoma, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for allegedly operating a refund fraud service named Artemis Refund Group. A thriving refund fraud marketFor every refund fraud service shut down by law enforcement, swarms of similar groups remain open for business. CNBC viewed several active refund fraud services on encrypted messaging app Telegram, each with thousands of followers. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards A Google form from an active refund fraud service explaining which stores it targets and how much it charges customers. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards A refund fraud service claims to have access to Amazon insiders in a Telegram post.

Persons: Stephanie Keith, Noah Page, Page, he'd, Ralph, —, Rick Owens, Sajed Al, Ralph Lauren, Uber, Maarej, Chris Black, Amazon, Al, they'd, Rekk, Cyril Noel, Tagoe, Noel, Louis Vuitton, scammers, Reddit, Brittany Allen, Allen, Remi Vaughn, Vaughn, she's, David Johnston, Johnston Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, National Retail Federation, Appriss, Amazon, Page, Riverside Press, Medianews, PayPal, Retailers, Artemis, Walmart, Apple, Nike, eBay, Saks Fifth, DoorDash, Google, MacBook, Mail, UPS, U.S . Postal Service, Al, Rekk, Gucci Locations: New York, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Reddit, TikTok, Eastvale, Michigan, Oklahoma, Chattanooga

☆ Free Shipping and Free Returns From Online Shopping Are Dying. Good.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Well, if you’ve ever bought stuff online and received free shipping or returns, you’ve also been a little bit of a jerk — and now it’s time to pay up. Fast, free shipping and easy, no-cost returns have become a baseline expectation in the modern online shopping experience. Instead of fighting for market share by offering free shipping and no-hassle returns, retailers are trying to squeeze more money out of every transaction. Free shipping is not actually free . Returns are a necessary and inevitable part of online shopping.

Persons: you’ve, —, ASOS, ” Neil Saunders, hasn’t, Emily Stewart Organizations: National Retail Federation, Appriss, Urban Outfitters, Saks, Amazon, Retailers, Business Locations: Zara, J.Crew, what’s

☆ Retail return fraud is rising as key holiday deadline approaches
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Courtney Reagan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As more consumers shop online and send back more of those orders, retailers have moved to crack down on fraud. Retailers expect 16.5%, or $24.5 billion worth, of holiday returns to be fraudulent this year, according to a survey by Appriss Retail and the National Retail Federation. Shipping back an empty box or a different item than was received, such as a box of bricks instead of a television, is the most common form of return fraud, according to Pitney Bowes' Ramachandran. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Source: Appriss Retail/National Retail FederationReturn abuse is more commonThere's also less egregious behavior, often considered return abuse rather than fraud. More than half, or 56%, of consumers confess to "wardrobing," according to a survey from fraud prevention firm Forter.

Persons: it's, Vijay Ramachandran, Pitney, we've, Michael Osborne, Marc Metrick, That's, Pitney Bowes, Ramachandran, fraudsters, Osborne, Doriel Abrahams, Abrahams, Jeff Greenberg Organizations: Pitney Bowes, Retailers, Appriss Retail, National Retail Federation, Appriss, Saks, Shipping, CNBC, National, Federation, Ikea, Universal, Getty Locations: Doral , Miami

This year, 59% retailers offer so-called "returnless" or "keep it" policies for unwanted products whose returns costs exceed their value, according to returns services firm goTRG, which surveyed 500 executives at 21 major retailers, including Walmart (WMT.N) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O). That information is "not something that retailers want out there" due to worries the policies could be abused by shoppers, he said. The firm helps retailers manage returns, which typically rise after pre-Christmas sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday and continue beyond Christmas. The typical return costs retailers about $30. "You just can't afford to ignore it," she said of returns costs.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Sender Shamiss, Shamiss, Amena Ali, Ali, Gabrielle Richards, Pamela Peters, Peters, Lisa Baertlein, Arriana McLymore, Siddharth Cavale, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, ANGELES, Black, Walmart, Super Bowl, Reuters, eBay, Appriss Retail, National Retail Federation, Amazon.com, Thomson Locations: Macy’s, Roosevelt, Garden City , New York, U.S, Los Angeles, New York

☆ Why companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Target are letting customers keep some returns, even after issuing refunds
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-30 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Major retailers are offering a surprising new option to customers for some returns: just keep it. Walmart, Target, and Amazon are some of the major retailers offering so-called returnless refunds. Amazon is one of several major retailers issuing refunds for products customers don't want without requiring they send the items back. "There's a customer service angle and there's an economics angle," Smith told Insider. So it's not much of a surprise that major retailers are reconsidering that expense.

Search resuls for: "Appriss"

6 mentions found