As much as we love online shopping, one of the biggest hitches can be trying things on for size. The solution: buy the same item in multiple sizes, sample them all in the comfort of your own home and then return the surplus.
But this practice could be eradicated after online retailers launch crack down on serial returners, who make a habit of purchasing things they never intend to keep and then reclaiming their money at a later date.
A survey by Barclaycard found 20% of stores in the UK have tightened their returns policy in the last 12 months, with some going as far as to ban offending customers from their websites.
And the trend shows no sign of letting up as a further fifth of stores admitted they were looking into a more stringent policy as well.
Although two fifths of stores blamed customers over-ordering, 30% said they are making the move to tackle customers who are buying items, wearing them once and then returning it as ‘unworn’ and asking for a full refund.
Although this may seem odd behaviour – returning something you were happy to wear once – retailers say Instagram culture is fuelling the desire not to be seen in the same outfit twice, even as shoppers want a return on their money.
Retailers also say huge numbers of deliveries (and subsequent returns) are having an environmental impact and causing congestion on the roads.
ASOS has said it emits the equivalent of 3.8 kilograms of carbon dioxide per delivery. Its total emissions were 236,720 tonnes last year. A study from the Energy Saving Trust found you’d have to buy 24 items in a shop to make your drive there and back equal to the carbon footprint of one item ordered online.
And given more than 25% of stores said they’d experienced an increase in returns over the past two years the environmental footprint is clearly growing.
Three quarters of clothing returns came from women and young shoppers were also far more likely to send items back than older generations.
Anita Liu Harvey, from Barclaycard, said: “Consumers have come to expect free returns as standard – otherwise they will shop elsewhere. As a result, we are seeing retailers trying to clamp down on serial returners and reduce the impact that returns are having on their business.”
And retailers are already feeling the impact – one in seven surveyed reported having been stopped from returning an item at some point over the past year.
In most cases, retailers are shortening the refund period or demanding that all original packaging needs to be intact. Others are issuing warning emails and in the most extreme cases retailers are “deactivating” customer accounts.
ASOS announced last month, in an email to customers, that it would now investigate and shut down accounts if it identifies an “unusual pattern” of buying and returning.
The retailer says it won’t be withholding customers money but will suspend accounts if they are deemed to be used in an “excessive” fashion.