Fixing Fashion Retail’s Returns Problem with Tech

Retailers are fighting back by ending the era of free returns. Retailers like Zara and Boohoo have recently started charging customers for returns. Zara, charges £1.99, which does not go a long way to covering their returns costs, but the charge is expected to curb online shopping trends like bracketing. Now that some retailers have starting charging for returns, many will follow suit, with H&M currently trialing returns charges in Norway.

Will retailers lose their consumer base by charging for returns? Some retailers with bricks and mortar stores, like Zara, can mitigate this by offering free returns in store. But other, fully online retailers, will not have this option available to them.

Consumers tend to expect free returns for mistakes on the part of the retailer, such as damaged goods. But in general, statistics show that a pleasant returns experience is more important to consumers than free returns. 76% of consumers who had an easy returns experience would shop at a retailer again. Clear communication on the returns process, together with easy options such as drop off locations, could prove effective at retaining market share.

Accurate style and fit issues, however, still pose a significant issue for online retailers. As long as there is a disconnect between how a consumer thinks a product will look on them and how the product actually looks on them, online returns will be an issue – be it due to the fit, the colour or any other attribute of that product. Bracketing needs to stop but what can consumers do instead? Surely, the solution cannot be to bin eCommerce and go back to bricks and mortar. No, the solution is to get cleverer with tech.

There is still a big divide between a product’s digital image and its authentic image. In keeping with advertising and marketing messaging, a product’s digital images often look airbrushed and manipulated. Break away from perfect polished static images to those that convey a sense of realism and fluidity. They should show various aspects of the product, including, where possible, consumers’ and social media influencers’ own uploaded photos. These images will go a long way in representing the product as realistically as possible, across all channels. Consumer and influencer reviews can also help create an authentic view of a product.

Digital needs to transform from a 2D untextured space to a 3D space that conveys experiential texture and feel. Creative use of live streaming, virtual showrooms and fashion shows are blurring the boundary between real and virtual.

Supplemented by a solid Product Lifecycle Management solution, like Infor PLM, technological innovations such as Augmented reality (AR) software allow consumers a three dimensional view of a product as well as the ability to “try products on” prior to purchase. A recent study found that AR can significantly improve consumers’ shopping experience, especially with regards to style and fit.

Some of today’s 3D software needs nothing more than a user’s mobile phone to generate 3D imagery and fitting services. To battle fit issues, Nike introduced “Nike Fit”, a tech solution that offers foot scanning, AI and machine learning to find the perfect shoe size, and the perfect shoe, for a customer. It uses your mobile phone camera to scan both your feet and it saves it in your Nike profile for future purchases.

Digital channels also lack contact with real people. Yes, Live Chat bots can answer questions, but they are not able to say if that handbag looks good with that dress. The issue can be solved by offering personalized attention, such as virtual meetings with sales associates.

The Right First Time principle usually refers to designing a process or a product with minimal flaws so that time and effort are not wasted in remedying errors. Let’s apply this principle to fashion sales.

Free returns started a buying trend that has had unsavoury outcomes for both retailer profits and the environment. But what are returns? Returns are the remedy to an error, an error made when buying a product. Free returns offer an easy remedy to the error but it does not address the error itself. Instead, we need to shift our mindset towards selling Right First Time. Let’s improve the online sales experience so that consumers make fewer errors when buying products. Buying fewer products that look great is far more enjoyable than buying many more and dealing with the hassle of returns, free or not.

From a consumer’s point of view, it might seem a shame that the era of free returns is coming to an end. But maybe it is not all doom and gloom for online shopping. Perhaps this is the start of the era of buying Right First Time. Imagine that.

Written by:

Monalee Wonnacott
Senior Consultant, Fortude