The company hopes convenient perks like curbside returns will boost customer loyalty and jolt sales. Neither company would quantify the use of curbside pickup or returns, but Walmart said it has seen nearly double the volume of customers using curbside returns from its launch across the chain last fall compared with this month. At Target's investor day in late February, Citibank analyst Paul Lejuez asked if the retailer would ultimately miss out on purchases by adding curbside returns. He said allowing curbside returns also helps the retailer get unwanted items back on the sales floor faster and lowers the cost of mail-in returns. For Target, curbside returns could serve as a differentiator and a complement to the merchandise mix it sells, Hoyler said.

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