Person checking out at Old Navy, with the cashier handing her a bag and receipt
Photo: Gap Inc.

Old Navy is offering a one-year “Kid-Proof” return guarantee for uniform styles purchased during the upcoming back-to-school season that “don’t stand up to the wear and tear of a school year.”

Old Navy typically allows returns within 30 days.

The one-year guarantee is designed to demonstrate Old Navy’s “rigorous quality testing and commitment to uncompromising durability,” including around fabric strength and fade resistance after multiple washes and daily wear.

“At Old Navy, we understand the demands of a busy school year. That’s why our uniform products are made using durable fabrics that are proven to be built to last,” said Sarah Holme, head of design and product development for Old Navy.

The guarantee follows Old Navy’s “Price ON-Lock” back-to-school initiative in 2022 that promised back-to-school prices wouldn’t rise amid escalating inflation.

Stricter return policies have arrived in recent years as retailers work to mitigate rising return-related costs, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and CNBC.

Last year, Old Navy and sister chains, Gap and Banana Republic, reduced their return windows from 45 days to 30 days, while J.Crew halved its return window from 60 to 30 days in 2019. In March of this year, Macy’s reduced its post-purchase return window to 30 days from 90 days. Amazon, American Eagle, and Dillard’s are among those with 30-day return limits.

Among those with more generous return policies:

BrainTrust

“In this narrow circumstance, I think the one year window is a great idea. Parents fully expect their kids to outgrow their clothes.”

Jeff Sward

Founding Partner, Merchandising Metrics


“Best case, Old Navy will have set KPIs to truly measure the full picture of success for this strategy rather than a narrow view of a few items sales trends.”

Allison McCabe

Director Retail Technology, enVista


“Changing to a 30 day policy is a good way for retailers to train their customers to be smarter about what they buy and what they keep.”

Georganne Bender

Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking

Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What do you think of Old Navy’s “Kid-Proof” guarantee enabling a one-year window for returns of back-to-school clothes? Do you generally lean more toward stricter or more generous return windows?

Poll

How effective will Old Navy’s “Kid-Proof” guarantee enabling one-year returns likely be at driving back-to-school selling?

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10 responses to “Will Old Navy’s “Kid-Proof” Guarantee Boost Back-to-School Sales?”

  1. Neil Saunders Avatar
    Neil Saunders

    Kitting out kids for back to school is expensive and the last thing parents want is to have to buy clothing items again and again because of shoddy quality. Old Navy’s policy provides some peace of mind and will likely resonate. However, it’s not the only generous return policy out there: on own brand items, including Cat & Jack apparel for kids, Target allows returns to be made for one year from the date of purchase. This received a lot of publicity earlier this year. Given Old Navy has ceded some market share in kidswear to Target over the past couple of years, I wonder how much of this is a bit of a rearguard action.

  2. David Naumann Avatar
    David Naumann

    The Old Navy’s “Kid-Proof” guarantee enabling a one-year window for returns of back-to-school clothes bucks the trend of retailers shortening their return guidelines. This should catch the attention of parents and help persuade them to purchase their back-to-school clothes at Old Navy. This should also help increase the perception of quality at Old Navy. This seems like a smart strategy.

  3. Gary Sankary Avatar
    Gary Sankary

    Cool idea. Sadly I don’t think there are enough Old Navy customers these days to react to this to move the needle much at all.

  4. Allison McCabe Avatar
    Allison McCabe

    Ideally, school uniforms live to be passed along to younger students. If this guarantee is also a way to give the customer confidence that the Old Navy offerings will last, its a win for both. Best case, Old Navy will have set KPIs to truly measure the full picture of success for this strategy rather than a narrow view of a few items sales trends.

  5. Jeff Sward Avatar
    Jeff Sward

    In this narrow circumstance, I think the one year window is a great idea. Parents fully expect their kids to outgrow their clothes. But they sure as heck don’t want clothing items to wear out before the kids outgrow them. This is an easy-to-offer insurance policy against exactly that possibility

  6. Meaghan Brophy Avatar
    Meaghan Brophy

    Generous return policies speak to the retailers’ confidence in their products. Guaranteed quality at a low price point is hard to beat, especially as consumers are tightening their wallets.

    In the release, Old Navy says, “During the prime Back-to-School season, all uniform basics will be priced at $15 and under.” Looking on the site today, some items are on sale for even less. 

    However, I’m not sure that this guarantee will convince shoppers who otherwise wouldn’t be interested in the uniform line to consider it. 

    1. Gary Sankary Avatar
      Gary Sankary

      “Generous return policies speak to the retailers’ confidence in their products” – Brilliant take on this issue. I’m going to start using that line of reasoning!
      

  7. Georganne Bender Avatar
    Georganne Bender

    To be clear, the Old Navy BTS Guarantee is only for uniform clothing. It’s not for all back to school clothes. So the things that you buy that are labeled “uniform”, have a guarantee of a year, the rest of the stuff has a 30 day return window. Still, when you have to buy a lot of polos and khaki pants this guarantee will help nudge customers to buy theirs at Old Navy.

    In regard to return policies, I think that a 30 day return policy is fair. Nobody needs to keep things sitting around their house for 120+ days. Changing to a 30 day policy is a good way for retailers to train their customers to be smarter about what they buy and what they keep.

  8. Gene Detroyer Avatar
    Gene Detroyer

    The length of the return policy shouts how confident the retailer is in thier products.

    The length of the return policy shouts how happy the retailer wants their customer to be.

  9. Craig Sundstrom Avatar
    Craig Sundstrom

    We seem very split on this, and I went with the naysayers. Part of it is simply that I have a hard time picturing Old Navy being a source for school uniforms; I may be wrong, of course, in which case this part of my doubt may be rendered null (or at least reduced).
    The other part is that, beyond some point – say 60 days – the policy is really part of a marketing strategy more than having practical use. It makes a lot of sense for places like LLBean or Nordstrom, since service/reliability are what you go there for. I see it being less purposeful at ON.

10 Comments
oldest
newest
Neil Saunders
Neil Saunders
6 days ago

Kitting out kids for back to school is expensive and the last thing parents want is to have to buy clothing items again and again because of shoddy quality. Old Navy’s policy provides some peace of mind and will likely resonate. However, it’s not the only generous return policy out there: on own brand items, including Cat & Jack apparel for kids, Target allows returns to be made for one year from the date of purchase. This received a lot of publicity earlier this year. Given Old Navy has ceded some market share in kidswear to Target over the past couple of years, I wonder how much of this is a bit of a rearguard action.

David Naumann
David Naumann
6 days ago

The Old Navy’s “Kid-Proof” guarantee enabling a one-year window for returns of back-to-school clothes bucks the trend of retailers shortening their return guidelines. This should catch the attention of parents and help persuade them to purchase their back-to-school clothes at Old Navy. This should also help increase the perception of quality at Old Navy. This seems like a smart strategy.

Gary Sankary
Gary Sankary
6 days ago

Cool idea. Sadly I don’t think there are enough Old Navy customers these days to react to this to move the needle much at all.

Allison McCabe
Allison McCabe
6 days ago

Ideally, school uniforms live to be passed along to younger students. If this guarantee is also a way to give the customer confidence that the Old Navy offerings will last, its a win for both. Best case, Old Navy will have set KPIs to truly measure the full picture of success for this strategy rather than a narrow view of a few items sales trends.

Jeff Sward
Jeff Sward
6 days ago

In this narrow circumstance, I think the one year window is a great idea. Parents fully expect their kids to outgrow their clothes. But they sure as heck don’t want clothing items to wear out before the kids outgrow them. This is an easy-to-offer insurance policy against exactly that possibility

Meaghan Brophy
Meaghan Brophy
6 days ago

Generous return policies speak to the retailers’ confidence in their products. Guaranteed quality at a low price point is hard to beat, especially as consumers are tightening their wallets.

In the release, Old Navy says, “During the prime Back-to-School season, all uniform basics will be priced at $15 and under.” Looking on the site today, some items are on sale for even less. 

However, I’m not sure that this guarantee will convince shoppers who otherwise wouldn’t be interested in the uniform line to consider it. 

Gary Sankary
Gary Sankary
  Meaghan Brophy
6 days ago

“Generous return policies speak to the retailers’ confidence in their products” – Brilliant take on this issue. I’m going to start using that line of reasoning!


Georganne Bender
Georganne Bender
6 days ago

To be clear, the Old Navy BTS Guarantee is only for uniform clothing. It’s not for all back to school clothes. So the things that you buy that are labeled “uniform”, have a guarantee of a year, the rest of the stuff has a 30 day return window. Still, when you have to buy a lot of polos and khaki pants this guarantee will help nudge customers to buy theirs at Old Navy.

In regard to return policies, I think that a 30 day return policy is fair. Nobody needs to keep things sitting around their house for 120+ days. Changing to a 30 day policy is a good way for retailers to train their customers to be smarter about what they buy and what they keep.

Gene Detroyer
Gene Detroyer
6 days ago

The length of the return policy shouts how confident the retailer is in thier products.

The length of the return policy shouts how happy the retailer wants their customer to be.

Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
6 days ago

We seem very split on this, and I went with the naysayers. Part of it is simply that I have a hard time picturing Old Navy being a source for school uniforms; I may be wrong, of course, in which case this part of my doubt may be rendered null (or at least reduced).
The other part is that, beyond some point – say 60 days – the policy is really part of a marketing strategy more than having practical use. It makes a lot of sense for places like LLBean or Nordstrom, since service/reliability are what you go there for. I see it being less purposeful at ON.