Fashion giant Zara has announced it has started to charge for returns, in a bid to cut down on the cost of shoppers who over-order with no intention of keeping all of the goods.
The retailer - which has a shop in the Metrocentre, is now charging customers £1.95 for returns to third-party drop-off points, although clothes can still be returned to Zara stores for free. The £1.95 charge will be deducted from the refund amount before it is sent back to the customer's payment method.
A Zara spokesperson said: "Customers can return online purchases at any Zara store in the UK free of charge, which is what most customers do. The £1.95 fee only applies to the return of products at third party drop off points."
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The chain is the latest to implement a charge for returns, following rival fashion chains Next and Uniqlo, who both charge for courier and third-party drop-off returns, although items can be either refunded (Next) or exchanged (Uniqlo) for free instore.
Changing shopping habits during the pandemic led to a 46% rise in online shopping, which in turn has led to a rapid increase in serial returns, at a growing cost to retailers . Recent findings from returns specialist ReBound found that one in three fashion items bought online are sent back - twice the amount bought in store. According to a report by Openpay, online returns alone cost UK retailers an estimated £5.2 billion a year on average, with even UK small retailers losing £15k a month to serial returners.
Recent research from parcelLab, which examined 200 of the UK's top retailers, found that 76 per cent of brands continued to offer free returns, but the latest move by Zara has led to questions over whether charging online shoppers for returns could become the norm in future, particularly amid mounting concerns over sustainability and the environment.
Fashion giant Asos said: "Free returns are a core part of the ASOS offer and there are no plans to change this approach.”, although the chain' website refers to a 'Far Use Policy', saying: "If we notice an unusual pattern of returns activity that doesn't sit right: e.g. we suspect someone is actually wearing their purchases and then returning them, ordering and returning loads - way, waaay more than even the most loyal ASOS customer would order or the items returned don't match what you ordered - then we might have to deactivate the account and any associated accounts."
High Street favourite Marks & Spencer has also said it will contact customers sending back an unusually high number of online orders, although a spokesperson said: M&S Can confirm we have no current plans to start charging for returns.
Tobias Buxhoidt, chief executive and co-founder of parcelLab, told This is Money : '"It is important to strike a balance between offering the consumer convenience while also limiting the impact the notoriously damaging returns process has on the environment.
"The proliferation of the "serial returner" has become a real issue for major retailers, so it comes as no surprise Zara are now introducing a £1.95 charge to return orders – and it is likely other major retailers will follow in the footsteps of Zara.
'"If retailers are to begin charging for returns, then this then becomes a paid-for service and must be fast, efficient, and directly communicated to the consumer. Retailers’ attention to their environmental impact must be coupled with first class customer experience if charges are to implemented by brands more widely."
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