During an August investors call, Home Depot CEO Craig Menear let loose a stunning stat: 90% of all online returns are processed in-store. Allowing an online return to be boxed and handled by a local store has always been a popular feature, but this is the first a primarily physical chain has released a returns percentage anywhere close to 90.

This forces us to consider what is the objective behind in-store returns of mobile items. Is it mostly a shopper convenience — to boost their confidence at purchasing something online that they’re certain about — or is it a tactic to lure online shoppers into the store, where they might as well buy a lot more stuff?

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