New Look and Schuh have become the latest retailers to offer customers instant returns via QR code as a result of a partnership with InPost.

The e-commerce delivery company’s Instant Returns service allows shoppers to send back items by using a QR code on their phone.

Missguided launched the service to customer last month as part of a strategy to simplify its returns process.

The service requires only a QR code to validate a return, and removes the need for shoppers to print a label at home, or at the drop-off point.

The system requires them to scan the QR code on their smartphone at an InPost locker and drop the parcel off - with the whole process intended to take a matter of seconds.

The system has been devised to make the returns process easier for younger consumers, which InPost has dubbed the ‘printerless generation’.

Research conducted by InPost found that 30 per cent of people do not have access to a printer at home they can use to print returns labels, rising to almost half (44 per cent) of people aged 18-34 , and two-thirds (66 per cent) of this age group reported that they would prefer to use a code that can be scanned on their phone, rather than having to add a physical label to the parcel they are returning.

The new service also aims to make returns more environmentally friendly than ‘analogue returns’, by eliminating the wastage of unused printed labels and unnecessary printing. InPost research suggested that 43 per cent of consumers are more concerned about the environmental impact of delivery and returns than in the past this rises to just over half (51 per cent) among 18-34 year olds.

Commenting on the move Nigel Oddy, chief executive of New Look said: “As a truly omnichannel business, we are always looking for new ways to make life easier for our customers, so we’re delighted to partner with InPost to offer Instant Returns.

“With no need to use a printer, customers simply scan a QR code on their phone and drop off their returns at their nearest InPost locker. It’s an innovative new service that not only gives customers a locally convenient option, but also offers a more sustainable way to process returns.”

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