If online shopping is all about the convenience, why are returns such a hassle?
Shyp, the on-demand shipping service that launched in Miami just before Art Basel, introduced a service this month that expedites the return of unwanted items. No more printing out the return label, repackaging the box and killing your lunch hour at the post office, the company says.
With the startup’s Shyp Returns feature, you simply launch the Shyp app (iOS or Android), select the retailer you’re returning to -- there are 13 popular ones right now such as Amazon, Target and J.Crew -- enter your order number, take a picture of what you’re returning, and you’re done. A Shyp courier will arrive within 20 minutes to pick up your item and take care of the rest, including packaging, for $5, the company says. “We know where it needs to go in a couple of taps," said CEO, Kevin Gibbon, founder and CEO of the company in an interview last week. With less hassle to return, “consumers actually buy more," he said. “It’s beneficial for Shyp, it’s better for the retailers and better for the consumer.”
The return feature is new but Shyp, which simplifies the process of shipping packages using a mobile platform and a fleet of Shyp couriers, has already been making tracks in South Florida. Since launching in late November, its third expansion after San Francisco and New York (L.A. is next), Shyp has been experiencing 20 percent month-over-month growth, said Gibbon, who thinks easing online returns – now 15 percent of its business -- will increase that. Shyp has also raised $12.2 million in venture funding.
Shyp, now a team of six in Miami and hiring, is one of a growing army of startups targeting the entrenched logistics industry. Want to send a gift or do you have a large small-business order to get out? Shyp charges a $5 pickup fee no matter the number of items and does the packing for you at its warehouse; the consumer also pays the retail cost of shipping. The company makes money because it negotiates large volume discounts on shipping, says Gibbon, who was a eBay power seller in college who experienced the hassle of shipping first-hand.
Shyp strategically launched in Miami just before Art Basel, Gibbon said. Along with small businesses, Gibbon said, “we are seeing traction with hotel concierges, who are using it as an on-demand service for their guests. Property managers have been promoting Shyp to their tenants, so we are seeing a lot of shipments from highrises. And of course shopping -- it becoming clear to us what people already know, Miami loves to shop.”
Miami is also skewing higher for international shipments, he said. "You don’t have to go to the post office for the custom declaration forms anymore. We do it all through the app.” And that includes art, lots of art. Shyp provides $1,000 of insurance for free; but customers can purchase more through Shyp.