Schibsted Ecommerce & Distribution, majority owner of fast-growing companies such as Helthjem and Morgenlevering which last year had a total turnover of 1.9 billion Norwegian kroner, is now buying into the Swedish tech company “Turnr”. The startup has developed a completely new return platform for online stores that will be made available to customers in Norway and Sweden:
“We applaud companies that dare to invest in new digital solutions. Turnr has developed a unique concept to simplify returns for both online stores and customers, while significantly reducing the environmental footprint. This will be incredibly exciting to develop,” says director of Schibsted Ecommerce & Distribution, Cathrine Laksfoss.
Challenge for e-commerce
Every year, more than 300 million packages are delivered in Norway and Sweden from online shopping. However, where the proportion of returns in physical stores is 8 percent, around 1 in 4 packages purchased online are returned. Several studies show that returned goods can travel several thousand kilometers across a number of countries on the way to a new owner.
“This leads to large emissions from the transport industry which transports back and forth between the store’s warehouse and the customer. This is not sustainable in the long run, and therefore we have a clear goal of cutting CO2 emissions linked to returns. With this service, the returned item can, in practice, go to the neighbour,” says Laksfoss.
The Turnr platform will be facilitated via the Helthjem network in Norway, which annually delivers over 13 million e-commerce packages in Norway and via the distributor Dooris in Sweden.
“We already have the distribution network in place, and now we want to speed up the green shift in our industry. This is just the beginning of a number of investments we want to make to build new, more sustainable e-commerce solutions in the Nordic market,” she says.
Good test results
Co-founder of the Swedish start-up company Turnr, Daniel Mattebo, says that with the help of one of their technical platforms, returns can be automatically redirected to new buyers who live in the immediate area – at a given discount.
“This way returned goods does not have to be sent hundreds of miles for repackaging. Now, any return can be sent directly, consumer to consumer. During the pilot project, the transport distance was reduced by 95 percent and the return was sold twelve times as fast,” he says.
Schibsted also has a unique contact with consumers, with over three million visits every single day on the various platforms associated with the group in Norway.
“This is huge traffic, and we have a great responsibility. Our vision is clear: to facilitate making more sustainable decisions in everyday shopping more easily,” Laksfoss says.
