Survey finds online consumers placing greater emphasis on free returns
A survey into the shopping habits of online consumers has identified a growing trend for purchasers to buy more than one size of garment, only to subsequently return those which don’t fit.
The results were obtained by Fits.me, the virtual fitting room provider, which found that 41% of consumers now buy multiple sizes, whilst 60% won’t even consider making a purchase unless returns are free.
Break-neck growth in online retailing has been held back in the fashion world with 12% of consumers conceding that they ‘never buy online because of sizing concerns’.
Of those returning unwanted items the main reasons cited were them being ill-fitting (43%), feel of the fabric (25%) and style of the garment (15%).
Heikki Haldre, founder and chief executive of Fits.me, commented: “Consumers don’t trust the sizing information they see online, and with good reason: there are no universal sizing standards, and sizing may vary considerably even within a single retailer. And there’s no way they can physically try on the garment. They’re learning that the ‘free returns’ offered by retailers works to their advantage; it means they can order multiple sizes but return the one or more that they don’t want.
“However returns cost retailers enormous sums of money; not just the transportation of it, but the re-warehousing of the garment and, often, its subsequent discounting for resale. This is already a problem for retailers; as the proportion of people shopping online grows and more people twig to the fact that they can send back unwanted items with no penalty, it’s going to get a lot worse – unless and until retailers deploy virtual fitting rooms.”