Decathlon’s Bold Move: Lifetime Returns in Hong Kong

In an interesting twist for shoppers in Hong Kong, sports goods retailer Decathlon has introduced a daring lifetime return policy for its loyalty program members. This move sets it apart from their usual policies in other countries, where the typical return window is just a year.

Kent Lam, the head of technology at Decathlon Hong Kong, shared in an exclusive interview that this policy is aimed at boosting customer confidence. He explained, “It’s kind of like a selling point … to give customer confidence in our products.” Notably, they have found that their customers have not abused this generous policy.

This lifetime return option is exclusively available to members of Decathlon Hong Kong’s loyalty program, which conveniently records all purchases made by members. Lam mentioned that signing up takes only a minute, and most customers in the area are now members.

When Lam talks about “lifetime,” he means pretty much forever. Unless the product is clearly worn out, customers can return it even years later. He shared an example of someone who found their home exercise equipment uncomfortable after a few years: returning it would be acceptable.

To ensure customer satisfaction, Decathlon is committed to resolving complaints about products as much as possible. However, the items do need to be in decent condition. Products that are returned typically end up being resold or donated to charity.

Thanks to the automation of the returns process at their eight stores and online, Decathlon has minimized errors. The company switched to a single service provider, Adyen, making the process more efficient and less prone to fraud.

Previously, the returns process involved multiple manual steps that could introduce mistakes. Lam highlighted that a customer had once fraudulently claimed at least HKD100,000 (around US$13,000) through these errors. Fortunately, the money was eventually returned.

After switching to Adyen, returns dropped from about 5 percent of total sales to 4 percent, effectively adding some profit for Decathlon. Today, this figure ranges between 3 and 4 percent, indicating the policy isn’t significantly harming their profits.

Lam explained that the extended return window doesn’t complicate operations, but the accurate verification of returns is crucial. The system is now set up to scan receipts quickly and complete refunds instantaneously, minimizing the chances of errors.

For customers without receipts, returns can still be processed by checking the transaction through the loyalty program. While Decathlon prefers to issue gift cards for refunds, they do explore other options when necessary.

Although this experimental approach in Hong Kong works well, Lam noted that it might not be repeated in other countries. Each Decathlon CEO has the freedom to set their returns policy, meaning what works in Hong Kong might not be adopted elsewhere.