Poshmark Partners With Loop, Turning Returns Into Resale: Will Retailers Follow Suit?

Not able to return unwanted or impulse-bought merchandise? That may not be as great of a tragedy as expected for those who use Poshmark.

According to Retail Touchpoints, the fashion and home decor online marketplace is partnering with Loop to offer a new proposition to customers who may have experienced buyer's remorse or simply missed the opportunity to return their purchase for other reasons.

Poshmark and Loop Join Forces To Offer a Third Option Concerning Returns

Poshmark has already made a name for itself with fashionistas and tchotchke fans alike, allowing closets and living rooms to become sales floors in their own right for its 130 million users in the United States and Canada. Now it appears to be taking a bold step into uncharted resale territory with its new partnership with Loop.

Per a press release, Poshmark and Loop are offering users the opportunity to effortlessly resell their less-than-desirable or unwanted purchases outside of the parameters of a traditional retail return. American merchants that partner with Loop through Poshmark will see customers able to click a button labeled "Resell on Poshmark" to turn around unwanted merchandise.

While Poshmark is somewhat unique in stating that all sales are final, barring exceptional circumstances wherein an item was misrepresented or damaged, the company is now alleviating some constrictions with the twin goals of customer satisfaction and sustainability in mind.

"At Poshmark, we believe shopping and selling should be simple, social, and sustainable," said Steven Tristan Young, chief marketing officer at Poshmark. "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."

'Returnuary' Doesn't Have To Be as Painful, Does It?

As PYMNTS recently detailed, returns are a growing concern for retailers across all segments. In 2012, 8.8% of products purchased from retailers were returned — in 2024, that number surged to a whopping 14.5%, or $743 billion out of $5.13 trillion of total retail sales.

The phenomenon of increased returns has been noted in recent headlines, with the holiday season being singled out as a particular pain point for retailers. With January being dubbed "returnuary," the phenomenon of ramped-up returns has become a central fixture of discussion surrounding the retail sales business for some time now, particularly as a negotiation between friction-free returns and a brand's bottom line comes into stark focus due to prevalence of the practice.

Returnless refunds have spurred a change in the way shoppers consider their purchases. As AP News reported, established giants in the space, like Amazon, have embraced a very liberal "returnless refund" policy — at least concerning certain purchases, on a case-by-case basis.

"Returnless refunds are a tool that more retailers are using to keep online shoppers happy and to reduce shipping fees, processing time and other ballooning costs from returned products," AP's Haleluya Hadero wrote.

"Companies such as Amazon, Walmart and Target have decided some items are not worth the cost or hassle of getting back. Think a $20 T-shirt that might cost $30 in shipping and handling to recover. There are also single-use items, such as a package of plastic straws, that might be difficult to resell or medicines that could be unsafe to market again," she added.

Poshmark is taking a different approach, however. Instead of allowing buyers to hold on to contested purchases — and also in lieu of denying customers the ability to seek value for an item that didn't quite work — the company is offering an alternative. Hannah Bravo, Loop's CEO, emphasized this novel paradigm in the retail space concerning returns.

"Loop's collaboration with Poshmark exemplifies the future of returns, where ease of use meets sustainability," Bravo said. "Together, we're helping brands and consumers embrace resale as a simple, single-click experience, supporting a thriving circular economy while driving meaningful engagement and value for all."

Whether the option of a quick-and-easy resale button might be a retail "third way" between the polar opposites of a no-returns policy and a more liberal policy of returnless refunds remains to be seen. Poshmark inhabits a somewhat unique space since it caters to a reseller market, but can traditional retailers avail of its new return/resale option to positive effect?