The Daily Valet. - 10/8/21, Friday

✔️ The Dark Side of Returns

October 08, 2021

Friday, October 8th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Are you buying anything online this weekend?

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

The Dark Side of Online Returns

What happens to the stuff you order online after you send it back?

We’re all shopping online more than ever. It’s been on the rise for years, of course, but got a big boost during the pandemic—generating $791.7 billion in sales in 2020 and making up nearly 15% of all retail sales in the United States, according to the Census Bureau.

Research firm eMarketer estimates online shopping sales will easily surpass $1 trillion next year. Which makes sense. I can testify to how easy it is to buy online—it’s an occupational hazard, you might say. I look at cool stuff all day and appreciate the satisfying simplicity of stored credit card numbers and one-click purchasing.

But as online shopping becomes ever more frictionless, there are some serious downsides that lead to a lot of waste and higher prices. Namely, returns care causing problems.

One-third to one-half of all clothing bought in the United States over the past year came from the internet. The pandemic didn’t make it easy to shop in person, but more and more people are choosing to try on their clothes at home. Have you ever ordered a few sizes on a retailer’s website and sent back the ones that don’t fit? This is a common practice called “bracketing”.

A lot of stores encourage this, offering free shipping, free returns and frequent discount codes, all of which promote more buying—and more returns. Or as The Atlantic puts it: “In a race to acquire new customers and retain them at any cost, retailers have taught shoppers to behave in ways that are bad for virtually all involved.”

The process of getting unwanted items back from consumers and figuring out what to do with them is both time- and labor-intensive (and often kinda gross). This abyss of the “reverse supply chain” results in a lot of waste. Because the truth is that the stuff you return probably isn’t restocked and sent back out to another shopper. Perfectly good stuff gets thrown away in these facilities all the time, simply because the financial math of doing anything else doesn’t work out.

↦ Meanwhile: Mysterious brands are flooding shopping sites and social media ads, making it difficult to tell the real from the low-quality

Biden Doubles Down

Says vaccine mandates are the only way to defeat the virus

President Biden on Thursday appealed to private companies to mandate coronavirus vaccinations for employees, asking them to take initiative as an effort that he announced last month to require 80 million American workers to get the shot undergoes a lengthy rule-making process and may not go into effect for weeks.

Biden initially shied away from calling for coronavirus vaccine mandates but has fully embraced them with the coronavirus reignited in the country in recent months, hampering the economic rebound and his efforts to move past the pandemic.

According to the Washington Post, since the president began his for push for more workplace vaccine mandates, evidence that they effectively boost vaccination rates has piled up.

And the idea is popular with the general population, with some 60% of the public in support, according to a recent Gallup poll.

↦ FYI: Fired for refusing a Covid vaccine? You likely can’t get unemployment benefits.

Trailblazing Women Honored on Coins

Five pioneering women will appear on U.S. quarters next year

They were suffragettes, leaders, artists and astronauts who transformed America—even if you don't know them by name. Now, they'll be immortalized on American currency.

The U.S. Mint just announced the full list of five pioneering American women who will appear on the first run of the “American Women Quarters Program,” which was authorized by Congress earlier this year.

Beginning in 2022, five quarters will be released, with tails honoring the achievements of poet Maya Angelou; astronaut Sally Ride; actress Anna May Wong; suffragist and politician Nina Otero-Warren; and Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.

The program will continue until 2025, honoring five women with five quarters each year.

↦ FYI: In 2019, the U.S. Mint produced and shipped over 11.9 billion coins to Federal Reserve Banks across the country.

JetBlue Rethinks Its Mint Class

An affordable way to enjoy high-class flying

The original airline disruptor, JetBlue, started a revolution of sorts when it launched its original Mint class service in 2013. No other budget airline was offering business class at such an afforable price.

And now they're upgrading it to be even more luxurious. “We didn't anticipate what type of success it would have,” Mariya Stoyanova, JetBlue's director of product development, told Robb Report. “So we decided to do a deeper dive this time.”

The airline invited customers to try out mockups to see how they used the space and seats when flying. The designers then turned the Mint seats into a pod-like suite, with a door, reclining bed, smart storage and details like a laptop shelf, a tilting 17-inch screen, wireless charging and residential-like materials on the walls.

To enhance the experience, JetBlue partnered with specialty providers including Tuft & Needle, Wanderfuel and chef Ryan Hardy's Delicious Hospitality Group (owner of Charlie Bird and Legacy Record restaurants) for onboard menus, sleeping kits and other amenities.

↦ Book It: Available on all flights to/from London, as well as select JFK-LAX flights. A roundtrip ticket to London starts at just $1,979.

In Other News

↦ Senate Dodges U.S. Debt Disaster, Voting to Extend Borrowing

↦ 18 Former NBA Players Are Charged in $4 Million Insurance Fraud Scheme

↦ Elon Musk Confirms Tesla HQ Move Out of California

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

This little-known Swiss car

A game-changing toaster

‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’

A Weekend Pairing

No Time to Die + a Vesper Cocktail

This might be the film that makes me finally go back to the movie theater in person. There's something about the immersive experience of the theater that really heightens everything that makes a Bond film so satisfying. And it sounds like Daniel Craig's last turn as the steely, broodier 007 promises to delivers.

Richard Trenholm at CNET says No Time to Die “packs a quintessentially Bond punch while also taking huge risks with the aging character and decades-old formula.” The AV Club was less impressed, but the Washington Post says the movie makes for a “fittingly complicated and ultimately perversely satisfying send-off.” Of course, with a two-hour-and-43-minute running time, at least we'll get our money's worth.

↦ Your Pairing:The Vesper is the true Bond drink. It was first mentioned by Ian Fleming in his 1953 Casino Royale novel. Punch has a great recipe. And it’s a whole lot more drinkable than your standard martini. So mix up an icy flask to sip at the theater.

What We’re Wearing

It feels like Fall is officially here. The air is brisk, leaves are changing, and you're swapping out your warm weather garments for sturdier insulation. If you have the traditional Fall staples covered, that's great and we applaud you, but you can always refresh your wardrobe for the upcoming season.

↦ Get the Look: Fall festivities outfit inspiration