Online Returns Growing Increasing Prices for the Rest of Us

This may not apply to your personally but we must all know someone who overspends online then returns most of what they have purchased. This is particularly prominent in the fashion industry.

According to industry statistics as much as 40% of all online fashion purchases are returned and more astonishingly up to 63% of women have returned something in the last 6 months. A Barclays survey recently noted some 30% of us deliberately over order planning to return most of the items purchased. While this may seem a great way to swap changing rooms in shopping mall and on the high street, serial returners - especially those that wear the items and return them after are costing us all.

It has been noted that clothing costs are rising at a rate higher than for years as providers are trying to recoup lost profits.

As online shopping continues to grow at an exponential rate, returns are increasing at such a rate there is a tipping point on the arisen. The huge costs being incurred by suppliers from home delivery and processing the returns through third party providers providing steaming and repackaging services will inevitably push prices higher.

She acknowledges straight away that shes surprised that only retailers are making any money at all if she is representative of all women and the way they shop online. She has a steady stream of deliveries day after day and most of the items delivered get returned. Surly the costs of the returns must outweigh the profits at this rate.

She also says that she wants to stay ahead of the fashion curve and doesn't have the time to spend going shopping. It's so much easier to over order and return all the items that don't fit or do not like. Sometimes ordering the same dress or skirt in three different sizes just to make sure one fits correctly. In some cases returning them all as she didn't like it once she had tried it on.

It seems that this particular shopping craze is growing and will most certainly hit retailers profit margins. We can expect an increase in prices if this current trend continues however there could be a silver lining on the horizon.

At Buckle My Belt we make every item to order. What this allows us to do is deliver the exact required size which is reconfirmed after every leather belt purchase. As each item is handmade to measure customers have to ensure that they are buying the ideal item which eliminates returns and the additional need to rise prices.

This process may not work for all retailers however if there were a more universal sizing procedure that clearly marked items in either inches or centimetres the exact sizing then customers would surly return far less orders. The issue is that a size 34 jean, just as an example can be different depending on the brand provider. A lot of people think that it represents an inch sizing but in most cases it doesn't.