A study by global fulfilment provider fulfilmentcrowd suggests 30% of fashion items purchased online in the UK are returned each year with 'poor fit' being the main reason cited by consumers.

The investigation focused on the trend of “bracketing,” a practice where customers order multiple sizes or colours of the same item with the intention of keeping only what suits them best and returning the remainder.  

A survey of 1,002 UK shoppers found that 62% of respondents admitted to engaging in bracketing when purchasing fashion items online. The findings showed little disparity between genders, with 62.7% of women and 62.1% of men participating in this behaviour. 

The study further explored the various methods of bracketing. It found that purchasing multiple sizes of a specific product was the most common form, with 40% of bracketing shoppers doing so.  

Other common bracketing practices involved purchasing items in different colours, accounting for 35%, styles, representing 24%, and price ranges, making up 11%, within the same category. 

Bracketing tendencies increased around special events such as holidays or weddings, with 14% indicating they were more likely to engage in the practice during these times. Product categories most susceptible to bracketing were jeans/denim at 40%, trousers at 39%, and tops at 37%. 

The motivations behind bracketing varied, with the top reasons being the convenience of trying on items at home (40%), experimenting with new styles (34%), and size variation across different retailers (34%).  

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Other reasons for bracketing:  

• Preference for trying on items at home – 40% 
• Desire to experiment with new styles – 34% 
• Size differences across different retailers – 34% 
• Greater variety of choices – 30% 
• Time-saving compared to shopping in-store – 25% 
• Inconsistent sizing within a brand – 24% 
• Confusion over different sizing systems – 20% 
• Awareness of ‘vanity sizing’ practices by some retailers – 17% 
• Awareness of ‘humility sizing’ practices by some retailers – 13% 
• Influence of social media – 12%. 

The research also noted that women primarily preferred trying on items at home, while men valued the increased choice offered by online shopping.  

The study revealed that 12.1% of male respondents citing impulse buying as the reason for bracketing, while 7.7% of women cited the reason, whereas issues related to self-esteem or body image were more prevalent among women (7.1%) compared to men (3.2%). 

On average, UK shoppers buy 22 fashion items online annually, equating to roughly one every two weeks, with six out of these 22 items being returned, a return rate of about 30%.  

The survey also suggested that 2% of UK shoppers show signs of shopping addiction. 

While most respondents estimated purchasing between one to five fashion items online per year, 6.4% of respondents bought over 50 items annually — about one per week.  

A smaller fraction, 3.9%, reported buying more than 100 fashion items each year, and an even smaller group admitted to buying over 200 (1%) and even over 300 (0.2%) fashion items online annually. 

Fulfilmentcrowd CEO Lee Thompson said: “According to Retail Economics, serial returners send back £6.6bn of online purchasers per year. However, our research discovered that most consumers (83%) could be further encouraged to reduce or avoid bracketing.  

“Factors that would most impact this include more accurate product sizing guides (45%), improved consistency in sizing across products (34%), and detailed customer reviews on sizing with photos (28%). Overall, one in ten (10%) noted that they regularly return fashion items due to poor fit – and this was more of an issue for women (12.9%) than men (7.1%). More than a quarter (26%) would also be in favour of a universal sizing system being put in place for all brands.” 

Thompson highlighted how social media’s “haul culture” and the growth of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services have likely fuelled this trend, with the rising return rates creating new challenges for ecommerce businesses.  

He explained: “One of the unintended consequences of the BNPL trend is what some retailers have coined the ‘Try Now, Pay Never’ phenomenon. Consumers, especially in the fast-fashion and apparel sectors, are increasingly using BNPL as a ‘try before you buy’ strategy. They place orders for multiple items, plan to keep just one or two, and return the rest before payment is due. This behaviour has led to a sharp rise in return rates, putting pressure on logistics systems and impacting profitability.”

By Just Style