MOST ONLINE CLOTHING SHOPPERS SEND SOMETHING BACK

New figures suggest almost two thirds of shoppers who bought women’s clothing online in the last six months sent at least one item back. Online shop owners blame these “serial returners” for pushing up prices. Researchers who questioned over 1,000 online shoppers found that 63% of the people who bought women’s clothing returned something. The research also suggested that people aged 18-24 were twice as likely as their parents to do internet shopping using their Smartphones. Catherine Shuttleworth from Savvy Marketing said, “The Smartphone revolution has made shopping closer; it is right next to our purse or our wallet. That immediacy and ability to buy things whenever you want is really important to that generation.” Emily Murray, a student and member of this new generation, said she bought a lot online, especially for occasions when she did not want pictures of herself “popping up repeatedly in the same dress on Facebook.” She said it was “nearly impossible” to know which would fit her, so she orders multiple sizes. “I end up sending back pretty much half of what I buy, and it might even be more,” she said. Many of the returns are passed onto logistics firms around the country that handle returned goods for major retailers. Tony Mannix, CEO of a returned goods company called Clipper, said that the brands he worked with did not want to be associated with the vast quantities of returns he handled. He says they were enough to cover “forty premier league football pitches”. He also said some of the clothing did not come back in peak condition. Some had lipstick stains and other clear signs that people who sent them back had worn them. “The first check we do is what’s called the sniff test because new clothing smells like new clothing,” he said as he described the checks they use to see if a garment had been washed or worn.