Fake returns continue to haunt online brands

A few years ago, D2C (direct-to-consumer) wearables startup Boult encountered a strange challenge. It received a ‘returns’ notification from a customer for a product, a newly launched smartwatch, it had sold via an online marketplace. Like always, on receiving the packet, the team opened it to do a quick quality check. But, to its surprise, instead of the smartwatch, the packet had a single piece of potato.