What is Buy Online, Return In-Store (BORIS): How it Works & Examples

Considering offering BORIS at your shop? Learn why you should consider a buy online, return in-store policy and how to implement one successfully.

As the name suggests, “buy online, return in-store” (BORIS) is a retail policy that lets shoppers make an online purchase, get the product shipped to their home, and if they’re unsatisfied with the purchase, return it in-store as an alternative to shipping it back.

According to the National Retail Federation, retailers collectively process $890 billion in product returns each year, with each brand losing around 16.9% of their annual sales in retail returns. 

BORIS is gaining popularity as a convenient way for shoppers to make returns, and as a way for omnichannel retailers to take advantage of their brick-and-mortar stores. 

Considering offering BORIS at your shop? Keep reading to learn why you should consider a buy online, return in-store policy and how to implement it successfully, including the technology required to process omnichannel returns. 

What is buy online, return in-store (BORIS)?

BORIS allows customers to make purchases online and return those products to a nearby retail store. This saves customers from packaging the item back up, requesting and printing a shipping label (or possibly paying shipping costs), going to the post office, and waiting for the retailer to process the return and issue a refund.

With BORIS, retailers also don’t need a designated warehouse for customers to send their orders back to. They can treat their brick-and-mortar locations as mini fulfillment centers, build relationships with otherwise online-only customers, and encourage impulse buys when shoppers visit the store.

How BORIS works 

Buy online, return in-store works by unifying a customer’s order, inventory, and purchase details. This lets the shopper bring an item they bought online to their nearest retail store, where store associates can verify their purchase, update inventory quantities, and refund the customer’s original payment method.

💡Tip: With Shopify POS, you can accept returns or exchanges for purchases made online or at another store location and your inventory will be updated instantly–no manual reconciliation required.

Benefits of BORIS in retail

With BORIS you can retain sales, reduce return shipping costs, boost foot traffic, and increase customer satisfaction. Here’s a closer look at the benefits of a buy online, return in-store policy.

Retain revenue

Many retailers, big and small, offer to cover return shipping to stay competitive. However, these expenses can cut into profit margins. When customers return online orders in-store, they save the retailer the time and costs associated with making a return, which helps your business retain revenue. 

💡Tip: To further mitigate revenue loss, consider offering store credit or electronic gift cards instead of refunds to the original form of payment.

Manage omnichannel returns from your Shopify POS admin.

Boost store foot traffic

When online shoppers enter your store to make a return, they may end up impulse buying something new that they found while making the return.

Even if BORIS customers don’t end up making a new purchase, just having more people in your shop could make it seem more popular and attract passersby who will end up buying something.

Increased customer convenience and loyalty

BORIS is convenient for customers because they don’t have to worry about their package getting lost in the mail. Your business can process returns and issue refunds immediately when products are brought in-store. This convenience can boost customer loyalty and therefore revenue.

How to offer BORIS in your store

Interested in introducing a buy online, return in-store policy? Here are the steps to take to make it work for your retail business.

1. Choose a unified commerce platform

BORIS only becomes a sustainable way to process omnichannel returns if you have the infrastructure in place to manage them. 

A unified commerce platform brings together all of your sales channels and activities. Acting as a centralized business “brain”, it removes any patchy middleware and integrations typically required to facilitate BORIS. Retail staff can consult their POS device to view the customer’s online purchase history, update inventory levels, and issue a refund to their original payment method. 

A leading independent research firm found retailers using Shopify POS’ unified commerce platform benefit from:

• Up to 37% better total cost of ownership
• 34% lower data migration and transition costs
• An average of 8.9% uplift in their gross merchandise value 

2. Document the returns process

As you create your internal process for BORIS, consider the logistics of any other shipping and return systems you have in place, like BOPIS or curbside pickup: 

• Should customers go to the main checkout point to make a return, or will there be a designated returns spot? 
• Who will be in charge of processing returns? 
• Where will returned items be stored? Will they be put on the shelves of your shop, or returned to a central warehouse for redistribution? 
• Will you offer store credit for BORIS returns or a full refund to the original payment method?
• What will customers need to show to conduct a return: proof of payment, an ID, their original form of payment, and/or something else?

3. Provide customer instructions 

After creating an internal process for BORIS, make your policy and instructions available to customers. The better you explain the process, the less admin work your team will have to do, like answering customer questions.

For example, you could:

• Add a section about how BORIS works to your website’s returns policy page. 
• Mark which items can be returned in-store on their corresponding product pages, if you only accept free in-store returns for certain items.
• Include information about BORIS in order confirmation emails and on packing slips. 
• Send an automated email with instructions on how to visit your store, including opening hours and where the designated BORIS station is, once online shoppers download a return form from your website. 

4. Update inventory data

When customers approach your store, have them show proof of purchase (email, packing slip, etc.). Then have your staff inspect the item before processing the return.

If you have a centralized inventory system and carry the same inventory online as in-store, you can simply repackage the item and put it back on the shelf. If your inventory is decentralized, place returned items in a bin in your shop until you can bring them back into your warehouse or other location.

Using an omnichannel inventory tool that tracks inventory from your ecommerce platform and all your brick-and-mortar locations makes this process easier. One point of reference lets you accurately know what stock you have available through all sales channels. It’s why retailers save 10+ hours a month on inventory management with Shopify.

“Shopify POS makes it easier for us because we have the same app running behind all of our shops—both online and offline,” says Maximilian Gnann, showroom manager at Ryzon. “We can quickly compare our online and offline sales and understand what's working everywhere we sell.”

5. Process the return 

If the item is in good shape and within the returns time window, provide a refund, process an exchange, or give store credit for the return. 

Since Shopify POS unifies customer and order data from every sales channel, there’s no need to ask the customer for their payment information and elongate queues. Simply refund an order to their original payment method through the POS dashboard. 

Challenges of buy online, return in-store

While BORIS comes with great perks, there are also a few downsides to consider. BORIS only works well if your store has multiple, convenient locations. The program can lead to store congestion and place more demands on your staff. Here’s a closer look.

High return rates

Friction-free returns are both a blessing and a curse. Although it improves the experience for customers who want a refund for their order, customers might be more likely to return products if they know it’s easy to do so. 

There is no simple fix for this solution, other than to be prepared for it. Write detailed product descriptions to deter customers from returning products because they turned out different from expected, and train your staff on how to offer personalized product recommendations to reduce buyer regret.

💡Tip: Keep an eye on serial returners with Shopify Analytics. Reach out to them to figure out the reason for repeat returns. If you suspect they’re making fraudulent returns, you could ban the customer from placing future orders both online and in-store. 

Store congestion 

When customers make returns in-store, they increase foot traffic in your shop. However, this can create congestion and longer lines during busy seasons (like the holidays) or during the weekend shopping rush. Longer lines create a poor customer experience.

If you have the space for it, create a designated area for in-store returns to ensure that customers don’t have to wait in a long checkout line if they want to make a return. Plus, when there’s a separate line for returns and for purchases, it’s easier for customers making returns to jump into the checkout line if something catches their eye.

Staff training 

When customers bring returns in-store, staff members need to process more returns. This could also put a strain on staff who have multiple tasks to juggle; returns are just one part of their job description. 

Mitigate this challenge by choosing a returns management software that integrates with your POS. Shopify, for example, unifies inventory, order, and customer data by default—no matter where you sell. This means retail staff only need training on a single platform. It’s helped stores like Tomlinson’s reduce the time it spends training new employees on POS operations by 32%.

“I appreciate how Shopify provides merchants with a suite of tools that you can use to build whatever you need to build rather than dictating what you can or can’t do with your business,” says Tomlinson’s owner and operator Kate Knecht.

Inaccurate inventory data

Retailers typically fulfill online orders from a shipping warehouse. When these products are returned in-store through a BORIS program, it’s easy for stock levels to become inaccurate. This creates issues: you might think you’ve sold out of a product when in reality, you have multiple of them that have been processed as returns in your retail stockroom. 

This highlights the importance of a unified inventory managementsystem. Shopify POS shows you how many quantities of each product you have across all storage locations. If you run out of inventory at your shipping warehouse but you know you’ve got five in-stock at your physical store, for example, you could route the order there for your retail team to fulfill. 

Manage inventory across multiple locations within Shopify POS.

Examples of BORIS in retail 

Here are some retailers who currently offer in-store returns for purchases made online. Check out their policies and customer interfaces for inspiration.

Babylist

Babylist originally started as an online baby registry but has since expanded into a thriving omnichannel business that offers BORIS with Shopify POS. Its unified commerce stack allows for quick and easy return processing in-store—no matter where the customer originally placed their order. 

“Shopify POS is a very simple system and being so mobile and quickly taking payment is what guests are looking for,” says venue manager, Si-Si (Hensley) McCracken. “Additionally, being able to start guests' profiles and look up previous transactions is key in creating a seamless experience in the event of a guest returning or a gift receiver stopping in with an exchange or return. Today’s shoppers expect that type of functionality so it’s important to have.”

Rudsak

Apparel retailer RUDSAK operates a thriving online store alongside over 25 retail locations across the US and Canada. It previously relied on Microsoft Dynamics 365 as its POS system, but it ran into challenges—like the inability to unify datasets for in-store and online orders. Its team had to manually stitch them together with specialized scripts, APIs, and plug-ins.

RUDSAK migrated to Shopify POS to solve this problem. With Shopify, the retailer can offer frictionless in-store pickup and BORIS—all while slashing in-store transaction time in half. It now averages less than a minute per purchase.

RUDSAK is happy with its migration to Shopify POS.

Leverage BORIS for your store

A buy online, return in-store policy gives you a competitive edge, makes shopping convenient for customers, and lets you take advantage of an omnichannel retail strategy. By creating a smooth internal process and explicitly letting customers know how it works, you can make in-store returns smooth for your team and customers.

The best part? Shopify’s unified commerce platform already has the infrastructure you’ll need to process omnichannel returns. As the only system to natively unify POS and ecommerce on the same platform, you get one source of truth for customer, inventory, and order data—so you can offer the omnichannel experience that customers want, without the expensive infrastructure typically required to provide it. 

Buy online, return in-store FAQ

Can you return something in store if you bought it online?

Retailers with a BORIS strategy allow customers to return a product in-store even if they bought it online. Check their returns policy to see whether this service is on offer.

Can I return goods bought online?

While the FTC doesn’t have federal laws to mandate ecommerce returns, most retailers allow goods bought online to be returned. Read their returns policy to see how long you have to initiate the return, if this is an option.

Can you return an online order in-store?

Many stores allow you to return items bought online into a nearby store, though this depends on the retailer.