New returns policies make 73% of shoppers think twice about buying

Some 73% of consumers have given purchasing from a retailer a second thought for fear of being blacklisted due to updated returns policies created to clampdown on serial returners, a survey has shown.

In April, ASOS was one of the first online retailers to take action against serial returners, with a threat to deactivate the accounts of shoppers they suspected of returning clothes after they had been worn. Shortly after, research conducted by Barclaycard revealed that 41% of retailers were considering updating their policies to deal with customers who over-ordered with the intention of returning.

E-commerce retailer OnBuy conducted its ‘Consumer Retail Returns Survey’ with 1,424 British shoppers to find out how they dealt with retail returns.

Some 86% said they checked the returns section of a site before purchasing while 32% admitted to being a serial returner. A further 55% of British shoppers said they would return a product as soon as possible if they weren’t happy, while 59% of British shoppers admitted they had been too lazy to return an item they didn’t like.

This would compared to 55% of consumers who returned their product as soon as possible and 14% who leave it up to a week. Some 5% leave returns until the last possible moment.

Just under a third of consumers (27%) admitted to wearing an item before taking it back.

The most common reason why consumers return products was cited to be: It “doesn’t fit/suit me” (77%.) This is followed by reasons like it’s “damaged/faulty” (14%), I’m “displeased with customer service” (5%) and simply, “want the money back” (5%.)

When asked, “What do you want from a returns policy?” Consumers said they wanted the process to be “hassle-free” (86%), to include “free shipping” (68%), and the necessary “returns packaging” to be provided by the retailer (50%.)

A further 27% of shoppers added they would prefer “no limits on returns”, while 18% desire a “no questions asked” policy.