Dive Brief:
- In order to help customers save money in new ways, Walmart on Friday announced that it launched a refurbishment program called Walmart Restored.
- All products in the Walmart Restored program have been professionally inspected, tested and cleaned, and come with a 90-day free return or replacement guarantee, according to a company announcement.
- The Walmart Restored program is now online and will be in select stores later this fall.
Dive Insight:
Buying refurbished items helps extend the life of a product and reduce waste — and gives consumers another way to shop at a discount during a time of high inflation.
Walmart already works with suppliers and sellers that refurbish products, but now items will be easier to find and shop with the Walmart Restored program.
“In a year when customers are looking for ways to save money, like-new refurbished products have become an increasingly popular way to cut down on costs without sacrificing quality,” Michael Mosser, general manager of Walmart Marketplace, said in a statement.
Products are inspected and tested and have “no visible cosmetic imperfections when held 12 inches away,” according to the company. Items may be packed in a generic box, but come with the accessories expected for a new product.
On the Walmart Restored portion of its website, customers can shop by category, including small appliances, tablets, computers and televisions, or by brand, such as KitchenAid, Apple and Samsung.
Only a select group of Walmart sellers can participate in the program. “We monitor their performance to ensure they live up to the highest standards of customer service,” the company says on its website.
A number of retailers have launched refurbishment initiatives over the past few years. EBay announced its Certified Refurbished program for reselling used goods; Nike introduced a program to take gently worn, like-new or imperfect footwear to be sold in Nike stores at a discount; Timberland partnered with ReCircled to launch its own recommerce program, and Lululemon expanded its resale program nationwide this spring.
Walmart a week ago provided a forecast update where it expects operating income to fall 13% to 14% for the second quarter and 11% to 13% for the year.
