Retail · Service design · 2025

What if a return never required stepping inside the club?

Reimagining returns as a curbside service, designed to get members from car to completion in under 5 minutes.

★Part of the Walmart MAD Award–winning Returns experience
Express Returns app screen beside a Curbside Returns sign, an associate with a tablet and a member unloading a return from their car
Role
Lead Designer, Returns team
Timeline
6 months
Team
UX research, product, engineering, business & operations, Sam's Club associates
Field research & pilots
Texas & Bentonville
01

The spark

Members didn't need another way to return. They needed a return that fit into their day. Returns were still a destination: drive to the club, park, walk in, find Member Services, wait, return, walk back out.

Research reframed the problem. The frustration wasn't only wait time, it was control. Members wanted everyday chores to be fast, predictable and easy to fit around their lives.

If members already use curbside to get products into their car, could the same ecosystem take products back?

I helped turn that question into a service concept spanning the member experience, the associate workflow, the physical curbside space and the technology connecting them.

Product principleDon't make members come to the return. Bring the return to them.

02

Reuse before rebuilding

Instead of creating a new service, we looked for infrastructure we could unlock. An April 2025 club visit showed that most of the pieces already existed.

We reused

  • Curbside infrastructureDedicated parking and curbside associates
  • Associate hardwareiPads and associate devices
  • Express ReturnsExisting transaction and refund capabilities
  • Purchase dataMembership, receipt and purchase-history lookup

We designed new

  • Return entry pointsQR code, call or text, and future app check-in
  • Parking & wayfindingWhere to go and what to do on arrival
  • Associate workflowExpress Returns, out of Member Services and into the parking lot
  • The handoffIdentity → item → eligibility → refund → confirmation
  • Future stateApp initiation, automatic eligibility, arrival detection, wait-time visibility
Low/no-tech pilot vs. tech-enabled futureYour side-by-side artifact from the deck · 16:9
I designed for today's constraints without losing sight of tomorrow's experience.
03

The flow

From trunk to refund, without leaving the car.

  1. Park
  2. Check in
  3. Verify
  4. Hand off
  5. Refund
  6. Go

No Member Services desk. No walking through the club. No second service journey.

  1. 01

    Arrive

    MemberParks in a dedicated Returns spot and checks in using the curbside signage.

    AssociateGets the request and heads to the car with Express Returns on an iPad.

    Pilot: QR, text or call. Future: app check-in and geofencing.

  2. 02

    Identify

    MemberShares their membership card, receipt or order.

    AssociatePulls up the purchase and the items being returned.

  3. 03

    Verify

    MemberHands off the item straight from the vehicle.

    AssociateValidates eligibility, confirms the item and captures the reason.

    Future: associates know what to expect before reaching the car.

  4. 04

    Refund

    MemberConfirms where the refund should go.

    AssociateProcesses the return and refund right at the curb.

  5. 05

    Done

    MemberDrives away.

    Confirmation and refund details arrive digitally, with a quick feedback ask.

Curbside in actionPhoto from the pilot, or the associate app flow · 16:9
04

Designing the service

The interface was only one piece. Making curbside returns work meant orchestrating five systems at once.

Digital
QR codes, check-in, Express Returns, confirmation
Physical
Dedicated parking, signage, wayfinding
Operational
Associate availability, item collection, refunds
Technical
Network, purchase lookup, device capabilities
Communication
Arrival instructions, wait expectations, refund confirmation
Journey mapping surfaced three critical moments
  • Discovering that curbside returns exist
  • Knowing what to do on arrival
  • Knowing what's happening while the refund processes

A five-minute return only feels fast when every minute feels predictable.

05

Results

From concept, to parking lot, to real members.

3clubs piloted
10%adoption in 5 weeks
<5 mintarget, car to completion
MADWalmart Making a Difference Award, Returns

What began as a question, “Can a return happen without entering the club?”, became a live service tested with members in real clubs.

06

What I learned

  1. Pilot the behavior before building the technology

    We didn't need the perfect app to learn whether members would use curbside returns. A low-tech pilot on existing infrastructure tested the service model first and showed which technology was worth building.

  2. Speed without predictability still feels slow

    Removing the walk into the club wasn't enough. Members needed clear arrival instructions and visibility while they waited. Designing for predictability mattered as much as designing for speed.

Want the full walkthrough?

Some of this work is confidential. Send me an email and I'll share the full walkthrough.

Send an email ↗
Previous case study

Before the curb, there was the kiosk.

Self-service returns inside the club: 32% adoption, 98%+ completed in under a minute.

Kiosk Returns