Despite the tremendous growth, Sobie says that the Return Bars remain focused on providing a streamlined return experience for customers. “Our goal is to make returns delightful for online shoppers and retailers. We believe the best way to do that is to enable in-person returns where the customer can interact directly with a Returnista specialist to complete a return that is fast, easy, and free,” says Sobie. “So the strategy is to provide the best possible experience for customers, and that requires connecting online and offline in a seamless way.”

The ecommerce-brick-and-mortar hybrid model is becoming the new standard in retail. Amazon has had a slew of major brand partnership announcements this year, and Santa Monica-based Happy Returns is seeing significant growth. The company, which provides ecommerce return sites at shopping centers across the country, has received $4 million in Series A financing and has secured five new brand partnerships with online retailers. This all comes as the company opens its 40^th return center.

“As part of our mission to make returns fast, easy, and free for shoppers, we are aggressively expanding our return locations as well as the retailer partners in our network,” David Sobie, co-founder and CEO of Happy Returns, tells GlobeSt.com. “On the location side, we continue to grow our network of Return Bar locations in top-tier shopping centers and independent boutiques as well as corporate and college campuses and other convenient locations. On the retailer side, we recently announced we are partnering with five additional retailers and we will be adding many more throughout the holiday season and beyond.”

Upfront Ventures led the Series A financing round, and Greg Bettinelli, a partner at Upfront, is joining Happy Return's board of directors. “We were very pleased with the interest during our recent round of fundraising and we're thrilled to be partnering with Greg Bettinelli from Upfront Ventures and Brian Spaly, the co-founder of Bonobos and Trunk Club, as investors and board members who totally share our vision for Happy Returns as the company transforming online returns,” says Sobie.

The $4 million in funding will be directed at further growth. As of now, the firm has forged new partnerships with Chubbies, City Chic, Jaanuu, Paul Evans, and Yosi Samra, and is opening its fourth location. This is tremendous growth considering that last December, the company has three locations in two metros. “The main use of funds has been to increase the size of our team to accommodate the rapid growth while still maintaining exceptional service for our location and retailer partners,” adds Sobie. “In addition, we'll be increasing our promotional activity and other programs to drive increased growth.”

Despite the tremendous growth, Sobie says that the Return Bars remain focused on providing a streamlined return experience for customers. “Our goal is to make returns delightful for online shoppers and retailers. We believe the best way to do that is to enable in-person returns where the customer can interact directly with a Returnista specialist to complete a return that is fast, easy, and free,” says Sobie. “So the strategy is to provide the best possible experience for customers, and that requires connecting online and offline in a seamless way.”