Women who buy more than one size online before sending the items that don't fit back are blamed for profits slump at high street chains

  • ‘Serial returners’ being blamed for the high street’s worsening fortunes
  • They are women who order the same item in several sizes and returns them
  • But retailers say the rise of the practice has led to a slump in their profits

By James Salmon Business Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

If you’re a woman who shops online, you’ve probably ordered the same item in multiple sizes and colours – just in case. After all, you can always send back what you don’t need.

But ‘serial returners’ as such shoppers are known have been blamed for the high street’s worsening fortunes.

Retailers say the rise of the practice has led to a slump in their profits and is putting them under further strain at a time of already plummeting sales.

Retailers on the British high street say the rise of the online practice has led to a slump in their profits - and claim it is putting them under further strain at a time of already plummeting sales (file image)

Retailers on the British high street say the rise of the online practice has led to a slump in their profits - and claim it is putting them under further strain at a time of already plummeting sales (file image)

Six in ten say their business has suffered as a result of shoppers’ propensity to return unwanted items, according to a study. 

Online-only firms have been hit the hardest, with three in ten saying that managing returns has hit their profits.

It comes as the high street last month reported the biggest slump in sales since November 2008, with cold weather and fears over the economy causing shoppers to delay updating summer wardrobes.

The growing number of online shoppers – and the ease of returning items via post and local drop-off points – has seen many customers take advantage of stores’ free returns policies. 

Three in ten say they deliberately over-order and then return unwanted items, according to the report by Barclaycard.

IS THIS THE END OF WEEKLY SHOP?

Families are abandoning the big weekly shop in favour of ‘Open All Hours’ convenience stores, a study found.

Busy shoppers are increasingly foregoing supermarket aisles, preferring to shop online or at budget chains and then make ‘top-up’ visits to local shops for fresh ingredients.

The change has seen many major chains give up on building supersize supermarkets in favour of an empire of small outlets.

Retail analysts Mintel said sales through convenience stores rose 1.8per cent in the past year to £37.8billion – and are set to grow by 16 per cent to £43.8billion by 2020. 

It said the growth was down to an increased need for flexibility when planning meals, with the convenience sector ‘perhaps the best suited to take advantage of this’.

One in five order multiple versions of the same item so they can decide at home, safe in the knowledge they can send back anything that doesn’t fit.

Women are almost twice as likely to do this, with 23 per cent using this tactic compared with 12 per cent of men. 

While 65 per cent of men will return an item only if it is faulty, this is true for just 53 per cent of women. However shops may have only themselves to blame.

Around 40 per cent of serial returners say they would send back fewer purchases if all shops used standardised clothing and shoe sizes. 

And 18 per cent said a better experience in shops, such as shorter queues for changing rooms, would reduce the number of returns they make.

The sales slump has seen many retailers make it easier to return items in the hope this will make people less cautious about spending. Barclaycard found 58 per cent of shoppers say a retailer’s returns policy influences their decision to buy. 

More than 300 chains, including John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and online fashion retailer Asos, signed up to the CollectPlus service, allowing shoppers to print a returns label and drop the item at a local convenience store, off-licence or newsagent.

One in five retailers have increased clothing prices to cover returns, and many charge for delivery to offset the costs.

Barclaycard’s Sharon Manikon said today’s ‘time-pressed shopper’ expects both buying and returning goods to be ‘fast, easy and free’. 

She added: ‘Faced with more choice than ever before, alongside a range of different clothing and shoe sizes, it’s hardly surprising that this new breed of online shopper – the serial returner – is starting to emerge.’ 

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