Poshmark Partners With Loop to Resell Non-Returnable Items

Online fashion resale market Poshmark launched a partnership with returns-focused commerce platform Loop.

According to a Wednesday (Jan. 8) press release, the collaboration is designed to offer an alternative to what the companies said is a common customer pain point: missing a return window or trying to return a final sale item.

“At Poshmark, we believe shopping and selling should be simple, social and sustainable,” Poshmark Chief Marketing Officer Steven Tristan Young said in the release. “After observing an increase in Poshmark listings mentioning missing the return window, we saw an opportunity to create a sustainable solution. Partnering with a market leader like Loop allows us to offer resale as an alternative, creating a more convenient experience for both buyers and sellers, putting money back in their wallets, and keeping more items in circulation.”

Open to shoppers across Loop’s merchant network, the partnership — a first for Loop merchants — offers consumers a way to resell non-returnable items on Poshmark. It allows consumers to sell unwanted items, gives merchants a revenue stream, and aligns with the fashion industry’s push to “reduce waste and promote sustainability,” the release said.

The tie-up comes amid a surge in retail returns. One estimate showed a 28% increase in return rates between the 2023 and 2024 holiday shopping seasons.

Returns have become a fixture of the January retail landscape, to the point that analysts have nicknamed the month “Returnuary” as consumers begin to realize “that the reality of returns as a function of commerce is more of a feature of the landscape than it is a bug.”

Last year, returns made up $743 billion, or 14.5%, of the $5.13 trillion of reported retail sales, versus 8.8% in 2012, an increase of 60%.

“For savvy eCommerce players, returns can ultimately represent an opportunity to reinforce customer loyalty, optimize operations and innovate for the future,” PYMNTS wrote. “Perhaps the most significant challenge, however, is customer experience.”

Loop CEO Hannah Bravo told PYMNTS in an interview published this week that to maintain customer satisfaction while controlling costs, businesses are embracing digital tools and strategic policies to more effectively manage returns.

“Holiday returns hit new highs this year, especially in cosmetics and personal care,” Bravo said. “However, returns in the following days grew more slowly than last year, suggesting retailers’ efforts to reduce returns are working.”