If your online store sells apparel, your return data can reveal where customer expectations and product experience don’t line up.
Key Takeaways
- Online apparel return rates often fall between 20% and 30%, compared to the average ecommerce return rate of about 15% to 20%.
- Shoes usually have the highest return rates. Clothing returns often range from 20% to 25%, shoes from 25% to 35%, and accessories from about 10% to 15%.
- Customers often send items back because the size, fabric, or overall look doesn’t match what they expected from the product page.
- Returns can cost retailers money through shipping, processing, restocking, packaging, discounts, and lost resale value.
- High return rates add costs for shipping, restocking, markdown, and customer service labor that can all cut into margins.
Returns are a constant challenge for fashion retailers, but understanding apparel return rates is key to overcoming this hurdle. By analyzing how often items are returned and why, fashion retailers can uncover patterns, optimize their strategies, and turn returns from a headache into an opportunity for growth and a better customer experience.
Typical Apparel Return Rates
On average, ecommerce apparel returns range between 20% and 30%. That’s higher than the average ecommerce return rate overall, which often falls closer to 15% to 20%, depending on the product category and season. Apparel tends to run higher because shoppers have to judge fit, fabric, and style without trying the item on first.
Some consumer groups, including millennials and Gen Z, may also return apparel more frequently because they’re used to buying multiple sizes or styles online and sending back what doesn’t work.
Return rates vary across different apparel product categories.
- Clothing: Return rates for clothing typically hover around 20% to 25%. Items like dresses, shirts, and trousers often have slightly higher return rates due to fit challenges and fabric feel.
- Shoes: Shoe return rates tend to be higher, often ranging from 25% to 35%, primarily caused by sizing inconsistencies across brands.
- Accessories: Return rates for accessories, like bags, hats, and jewelry, are generally lower than for clothing and shoes. These products tend to have return rates closer to 10% to 15%, as they don’t need to fit perfectly and depend more on personal style preferences.
Knowing how return rates differ by category allows retailers to tailor their return reduction strategies and better manage the unique challenges of each product type.
Factors Influencing Return Rates
Knowing why customers don’t want to keep the item they purchased can help ecommerce businesses better plan for and manage returns. Here are a few key contributors:
1. Fit Issues
Without the ability to try items on, customers often find that a product doesn’t fit as expected when it arrives. Size and fit are two of the biggest reasons for high apparel return rates, especially when shoppers have to rely on product photos, size charts, and fit notes instead of trying the item on in person. Whether it’s a tight waist or a loose sleeve, fit remains a central problem for online shoppers.
2. Material Quality Concerns
Apparel items that appear high quality in product images can sometimes fall short when customers receive them. Poor fabric quality or construction can lead to dissatisfaction and a higher likelihood of return.
3. Customer Expectations
Online shoppers tend to have high expectations when it comes to product descriptions, images, and delivery timelines. If the product doesn’t meet the expectations set by the online store, whether due to pictures that don’t show the product clearly, size charts that aren’t helpful, or inaccurate descriptions, customers are more likely to return it.
4. Unclear Return Policies
Many customers return items due to confusion or dissatisfaction with a retailer’s return policy. Policies that are hard to find, complicated, or restrictive can frustrate shoppers and lead to unnecessary returns or lost sales. Clear, simple, and transparent return guidelines help set proper expectations and reduce return-related issues.
The FTC recommends that online shoppers check return policies before buying, including whether returns are allowed, who pays return shipping, and whether restocking fees apply. That same advice is useful for retailers because it shows exactly what customers want to know before they commit to a purchase.
The Cost of High Apparel Return Rates
High apparel return rates can create costs at nearly every stage of the retail process. Each returned item can require retailers to absorb:
- Reverse shipping costs
- Labor to inspect and process returns
- Restocking work
- Lost packaging
- Markdown losses when you can’t sell returned items at full price
Even if your return rates are “normal,” the cost of returns can still put serious pressure on margins once your team accounts for shipping, customer service time, warehouse handling, and resale value.
Signs of High Apparel Return Rates and Their Impact
If your fashion ecommerce return rates are really high for your business, it’s important to figure out the problem and fix it before it hurts your profits.
Operational Challenges
Handling returns requires resources, from customer service teams processing return requests to logistics teams managing the returned products. Each return adds costs for processing, restocking, and reshipping, all of which can cut into your profits.
In addition, high return rates can disrupt inventory management. Retailers may struggle to maintain accurate stock levels if returns aren’t processed quickly enough, leading to delays in restocking popular items.
Customer Perception
Another negative impact of high return rates is their effect on customer perception. If returns are frequent or problematic, it can harm your brand’s reputation and make customers lose trust. Reviews and customer feedback often reflect dissatisfaction with the return process, and poor experiences in this area can make people less likely to buy again.
Customers may also see a high return rate as a sign that the products don’t meet expectations. This can drive away potential buyers, especially those who care most about quality and service.
Strategies To Reduce Apparel Return Rates
While some return rates are inevitable in ecommerce stores, there are strategies you can use to bring them down and improve your overall customer experience. By addressing the root causes of returns, you can reduce the volume of returns and help your business make more money.
Optimizing Size Charts
One of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce returns is to offer accurate, detailed size charts. Many fashion ecommerce businesses lose sales and increase returns due to inaccurate or incomplete size guides. Providing a detailed size guide, along with specific measurements for each item, helps customers make smart buying choices and minimizes the likelihood of receiving products that don’t fit.
Best practices include offering size guides in both standard and metric measurements, including easy-to-understand notes about fit (e.g., slim fit, regular fit), and even providing customer reviews or photos that show how the item fits in real life.
You can also use return data to improve your size charts over time. If one product gets repeated returns because it runs small, has a tight waist, or fits differently than expected, that information should show up directly on the product page before the next shopper buys.
Offering Discounts for No-Return Purchases
Another way to lower return rates is to offer customers a small discount if they agree to waive the option to return the item. This works well for shoppers who are confident in their selection. Repeat customers who have already purchased the same style or size before would be a good fit for this offer.
By giving an immediate incentive, you reduce the chance of returns while building goodwill through perceived savings. Be sure this option is clearly presented at checkout and that customers understand it’s voluntary.
Many fashion brands have successfully implemented this strategy, especially for items that tend to have higher return rates, such as accessories or seasonal items. The key is to be clear about the return rules from the start to avoid frustrating customers later.
Improving Product Pages
Product pages can also play a major role in reducing apparel return rates. Shoppers need clear measurements, fabric details, fit notes, care instructions, and realistic product images that show how the item looks from different angles.
The more confident customers feel before checkout, the less likely they are to order multiple sizes, guess on fit, or return an item because it didn’t match their expectations. You can also review common return reasons to find patterns that point back to product page issues.
Improve Apparel Return Rates With Smart Tools and Strategies
Reducing preventable returns can help protect profit margins and create a better shopping experience for your customers. With Kiwi Sizing, a powerful Shopify size chart app, you can streamline the process and offer precise, data-driven size recommendations to your customers.
Say goodbye to size-related returns and hello to happier, more confident shoppers. Start using Kiwi Sizing today and transform your apparel return rates with smarter sizing solutions!
