Millennials and Gen Z shoppers are expected to be the highest returning demographics when it comes to sending back fashion purchases bought on Black Friday this year, according to the latest research by True Fit, the leading AI-driven platform that decodes size and fit for shoppers and fashion retailers.
Original research of 1,000 UK consumers by True Fit showed that while the average shopper will return one in six (16%) Black Friday fashion purchases, Millennials will send back one in four (24%) of the garments they buy on Black Friday, while Gen Z will return 23% of the clothing bought over the discounting period.
With Adobe Analytics’ data estimating that last year UK shoppers spent £1.04billion during Black Friday, a rise of +4.1% compared to 2022, these significant intended returns among shoppers risk dampening retail revenue opportunities, True Fit suggests.
Jessica Arredondo Murphy, Co-Founder and CEO of True Fit, commented: “Retailers are working hard to meet the discounting demands of shoppers who, despite the slowly improving economic picture, are still feeling the squeeze on disposable incomes. Last year, we saw that pressure on discretionary spend translated into increased purchasing on Black Friday deals. Retailers are already taking a hit on margins through discounting, but with high returns rates forecast, they could risk significant additional costs associated with reverse logistics and re-merchandising of returned goods, eating away further at already slim margins.”
The rise of the serial returner
Now, 20% of UK shoppers consider themselves to be serial returners, an increase of +5 percentage points year-on-year, with the proportion indexing even higher among Millennials, with 37% identifying as repeat returners – a rise of +13 percentage points compared to 2023.
This rise in frequent returns has prompted retailers, including ASOS, to charge fees for returns or threaten to disable customer accounts if they perceive the levels of returns are too high. Earlier this month, ASOS said it would start charging customers £3.95 for returns from 08 October if they failed to keep £40 worth of goods in their order (its Premier customers only had to keep £15 of their order to avoid the fee), penalising shoppers who ‘unsustainably’ sent garments back.
While 76% of UK consumers feel returns are just a natural consequence of online shopping, a further 72% attributed fit as the most frequent cause of having to return everyday fashion, rising to 78% of Millennials.
“Our research shows fit assurance is the defining factor as to whether a shopper keeps or returns an item,” Murphy continued. “And this makes being able to boost fit confidence and serve high-fidelity size and fit recommendations to 100% of traffic critical for helping retailers drive more s
