The Dilemma of Fashion Industry - High Return Rates

Source: Kellie French/The Guardian

According to Statista, customers in UK are more inclined to return clothing items than any other sort of goods, with 35% of consumers having returned at least one article of clothing in the preceding 12 months. Following closely behind shoes (17%), then bags & accessories (12%), and finally electronics (9%). Comparatively, just 7 percent of customers returned things related to beauty and cosmetics, while 5 percent sent back items related to leisure, such as books, music, movies, and video games.

Source: Statista (2023)

And numbers in Statista also shows that, as of the year 2021, the primary cause for the return of online clothing purchases is sizing issues: 38% of consumers return their items because they don’t fit well.

Source: Statista (2023)

A customer's mind might be changed for a number of different reasons. However, the inability to physically inspect an item before purchase is likely to blame for the high average return rate of apparel purchased online. They are unable to ensure that the item is the correct size, that it is in good condition, or that the color or pattern is a good match. Instead, they have little choice except to accept the ambiguity and cross their fingers.

The challenges with sizing will vary from product to product that a store carries. According to research conducted by Tessuti, a whopping 23% of all returns made to online men's clothing retailers are because the items ordered were too small for the customer. Among women's apparel lines, returns due to sizing issues account for 22% of all returns. Return rates for children's clothes mirror those for men's clothing, with 31% of returns attributable to goods being too small and 16% attributable to products being too big.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), internet sales in the United States topped $1 trillion in 2021, against predictions that this wouldn't happen until 2024 based on data collected before the epidemic. Unwanted purchases are sure to rise in tandem with the industry's sales boom, but how much do they really cost? According to the NRF, consumers have return $218 billion worth of online purchases (20.8%) in 2021.

Optoro believes that for every $50 in merchandise a consumer returns, the retailer loses $33, and the longer it takes to receive the merchandise back, the more difficult it is for the store to repay their initial investment. Given the brief lifespan of most fashion trends, clothing is especially susceptible to depreciation. There isn't much time to process, refill, and resell returned products before the following fashion season drops if items are delivered back at the very end of a 30-day return window.

Online clothing returns issues are inevitable. However, you may reduce the likelihood of this happening and the amount it will cost you by optimizing your shop. Returns are an inevitable aspect of running a business, but you shouldn't allow them destroy your enterprise. With the help of cutting-edge platforms like Sizility, stores can save expenses while simultaneously increasing product transparency, expediting returns, and doing away with sizing confusion.