Buy. Feedback. Repeat… What really happens when we return unwanted clothes?
In the past, the post office was an embarrassing place for Megan Hitt. The 25-year-old nurse from South Wales recalls one time a few years ago when she had to approach the counter with six different Asos parcels in her arms, her "shopping addiction exposed to the everyone's eyes". Since college, Hitt has been a prolific online shopper, buying multiple outfits at once, choosing one to keep, and flipping the rest. This time, when she handed over her packages to be scanned, she was ashamed that there were so many. Still, she knew she would be back soon – she already had another Asos order on the way.
Buying and returning clothes online is part of the fabric of modern life. For years, Hitt didn't give it much thought: "I used to buy and return like it didn't matter." At worst, she would order three packages a week; sometimes if she knew she would only wear something once, on a night out, she would keep the tags and send it back. "It was something we all did," Hitt says of his college years. "In a house of six girls, four did it all the time."
In the UK, customers return £7 billion worth of internet purchases every year , while more than a fifth of all clothing purchased online is returned. Around the world, return rates are generally higher when customers shop online: in the US, 8-10% of physical store sales are returned, while 20-30% of online purchases ultimately bounce. Rising Yields During Cost of Living Crisis Has Retailers Worried; in the spring of 2022, fast fashion retailer Boohoo saw an increase in returns of a 94% drop in pre-tax profits.
The problem with returns is now so prevalent that there is a specialized organization dedicated to its study: the Product Returns Research Group (PRRG) of the University of Southampton. Regina Frei, professor of operations and supply chain management who leads the group, found that it costs businesses £11 to deal with the return of an £89 item, in a situation where 20 % of orders return. Frei also spoke to warehouse workers and discovered that many companies don't know the real reasons why products are returned - 70% of returns are recorded as a "change of mind" by the customer, in part because it's the first thing employees do. can click through their drop-down menus.
"Many retailers are unaware of the magnitude of the returns problem," Frei says. "There is often a lack of strategy in how to handle returns." Lisa Jack, an accounting professor and member of the PRRG, says the situation is getting worse to the point where "it could wipe out any profits companies make from selling goods".
That's part of why Hitt is now much less embarrassed when she returns unwanted packages. "Now they have the InPost lockers where you don't even have to see anyone," she says. "You can just take the package and scan the QR code." In November 2022, InPost recorded record year-over-year growth, proudly noting that 46% of residents of London, Birmingham and Manchester were "within a seven-minute walk" of an InPost locker.< /p>
In the past, the post office was an embarrassing place for Megan Hitt. The 25-year-old nurse from South Wales recalls one time a few years ago when she had to approach the counter with six different Asos parcels in her arms, her "shopping addiction exposed to the everyone's eyes". Since college, Hitt has been a prolific online shopper, buying multiple outfits at once, choosing one to keep, and flipping the rest. This time, when she handed over her packages to be scanned, she was ashamed that there were so many. Still, she knew she would be back soon – she already had another Asos order on the way.
Buying and returning clothes online is part of the fabric of modern life. For years, Hitt didn't give it much thought: "I used to buy and return like it didn't matter." At worst, she would order three packages a week; sometimes if she knew she would only wear something once, on a night out, she would keep the tags and send it back. "It was something we all did," Hitt says of his college years. "In a house of six girls, four did it all the time."
In the UK, customers return £7 billion worth of internet purchases every year , while more than a fifth of all clothing purchased online is returned. Around the world, return rates are generally higher when customers shop online: in the US, 8-10% of physical store sales are returned, while 20-30% of online purchases ultimately bounce. Rising Yields During Cost of Living Crisis Has Retailers Worried; in the spring of 2022, fast fashion retailer Boohoo saw an increase in returns of a 94% drop in pre-tax profits.
The problem with returns is now so prevalent that there is a specialized organization dedicated to its study: the Product Returns Research Group (PRRG) of the University of Southampton. Regina Frei, professor of operations and supply chain management who leads the group, found that it costs businesses £11 to deal with the return of an £89 item, in a situation where 20 % of orders return. Frei also spoke to warehouse workers and discovered that many companies don't know the real reasons why products are returned - 70% of returns are recorded as a "change of mind" by the customer, in part because it's the first thing employees do. can click through their drop-down menus.
"Many retailers are unaware of the magnitude of the returns problem," Frei says. "There is often a lack of strategy in how to handle returns." Lisa Jack, an accounting professor and member of the PRRG, says the situation is getting worse to the point where "it could wipe out any profits companies make from selling goods".
That's part of why Hitt is now much less embarrassed when she returns unwanted packages. "Now they have the InPost lockers where you don't even have to see anyone," she says. "You can just take the package and scan the QR code." In November 2022, InPost recorded record year-over-year growth, proudly noting that 46% of residents of London, Birmingham and Manchester were "within a seven-minute walk" of an InPost locker.< /p>
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