Hibbett accepts online returns in-store – from hundreds of retailers

Hibbett, parent company of Hibbett Sports and City Gear, is partnering with the Happy Returns in-person returns solution. The athletic-inspired apparel retailer is implementing Happy Returns “Return Bars” in its more than 1,100 Hibbett and City Gear specialty stores nationwide.

As a result, shoppers can now take returns from hundreds of online retailers in-person, box-free and label-free at Hibbett and City Gear stores in 36 states. To use Happy Returns, online shoppers retrieve a QR code from the website where they purchased their item.

Customers then bring the return item and QR code to a nearby Hibbett Sports or City Gear location and stop by the checkout counter to drop it off for an immediate refund and an emailed coupon to use in-store once the return is completed.

Through this collaboration with Happy Returns, Hibbett intends to further extend its customer service to consumers who may not have shopped at its stores before. In addition, the retailer seeks to reduce cardboard waste through the use of reusable containers and help lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to online returns performed by mail.

Happy Returns was acquired by PayPal in May 2021.

[Read more: PayPal to buy Happy Returns, which helps shoppers return online purchases]

“Innovation is a key operating principle for Hibbett as we continuously look for ways to improve the shopper experience and adapt to ever-changing consumer needs and wants,” said Ben Knighten, senior VP, store operations, Hibbett Inc. “We are helping expand the Happy Returns network with the added convenience of more than 1,100 new Return Bars and introducing Happy Returns shoppers to the best-in-class Hibbett and City Gear customer experience.”

“Returns are finally being recognized for their importance in the shopping journey,” said David Sobie, VP of Happy Returns, a PayPal company. “Shoppers have no patience for printing labels or boxing items to return via mail and instead overwhelmingly choose to return box-free and in person whenever possible. With the addition of Hibbett’s stores to our network, we now have over 6,000 Return Bars, which means 78% of American households are within a 10-mile drive of a Happy Returns drop-off location.”

Hibbett, headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is an athletic-inspired apparel retailer with 1,126 Hibbett and City Gear specialty stores located in 36 states nationwide.