New Look introduces fee for postal returns
New Look has confirmed it will charge customers for online orders returned by post in a new trial.
The fashion brand will charge £1.99 to return items by post but will still allow customers to return online purchases to New Look stores for free.
A spokesperson from New Look said: “New Look has taken the decision to trial a £1.99 fee for postal returns. This is in line with the wider industry, and reflects increased costs related to delivery and collection. Customers are still able to return their online orders to our stores free of charge.”
Last year, Zara quietly introduced a line to the terms and conditions of its website to explain that it would be introducing a £1.95 charge for e-commerce returns. It also said that purchases made in-store could still be returned for free to a store in the same region.
Shortly after, Boohoo also made a policy change in the small print of its app and website, informing customers that a £1.99 charge would be deducted from any refund issued. The policy also applies to shoppers using gift cards, store credit or vouchers.
Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell, previously told TheIndustry.fashion: "For years, customers have treated fast fashion retailers as a two-stage transaction. Buy multiple sizes of the same items and send back the ones that don’t fit. This is costing a lot of money and the only way to discourage this activity is to start charging customers to return products. Although this action risks dampening demand, more retailers are going down this path and so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary."
Read TheIndustry.fashion's feature on Ecommerce: Have we reached the point of diminishing returns?
