Saving costs or sacrificing loyal customers: ASOS bans shoppers over high returns

ASOS has found itself at the centre of a new wave of customer backlash after it began closing accounts of customers with high return rates - a move critics say risks alienating the loyal shoppers it depends on.

In recent days, shoppers have taken to social media to express confusion and frustration after receiving emails from the online fashion giant, informing them that their accounts were shut down for behaviour deemed to breach its Fair Use policy.

One such shopper was Rhea Sangha, Senior Marketing Manager at John Lewis and a self‑professed ASOS loyalist. Sharing her experience on LinkedIn, Sangha described feeling "gobsmacked" after being informed of the account closure.

She said: "I’m a die‑hard, loyal ASOS fan and have been a regular customer for years. It’s my go‑to for holidays, weddings, parties – and I bloody love Topshop!"

Sangha acknowledged making frequent returns but argued that this is simply the reality of online fashion shopping, particularly for curvier customers. She added: "Clothes unfortunately do not fit me like a glove… I spend hundreds of pounds a year with ASOS. Is this really how retailers should be treating their best customers?"

Commenting on the account closures, an ASOS spokesperson said: "We recently closed the accounts of a small group of customers whose shopping activity has consistently fallen outside our Fair Use policy. This helps us maintain our commitment to offering free returns to all customers across all core markets."

The latest fallout follows ASOS’s controversial move in September 2024 to introduce a £3.95 returns fee for customers with "frequently high return rates", aiming to mitigate rising return rates and associated costs. At the time, the retailer emphasised that the fee would apply only to a small group of UK shoppers, with the majority still enjoying free returns - particularly ASOS Premier members who kept at least £40 of their orders.

Still, the lack of transparency about what qualifies as "high returns" and the seemingly arbitrary nature of enforcement have left a sour taste for some.

The growing tension underscores the delicate balance fashion retailers must maintain between reducing losses from excessive returns and preserving the convenience and flexibility consumers expect from e-commerce. ASOS is not alone in this challenge.

PrettyLittleThing faced backlash after deactivating customer accounts due to high return volumes. It came shortly after PLT introduced a £1.99 fee for returns in June 2024.

In 2023, H&M introduced a similar policy. However, the retailer quickly backtracked after facing similar criticism. ZARA introduced online return fees in 2022, but that led to endless queues at its in-store return counters come mid-week lunch breaks.

As Amal Ahmed, Director of Financial Services and EMEA Marketing at Signifyd, said at the time: "Penalising customers for high return rates can harm brand reputation and customer loyalty. Retailers need a more nuanced, data-driven approach."

In the fiercely competitive online fashion industry, where customer loyalty is increasingly difficult to secure, the stakes are high. For ASOS, the critical question is whether short-term operational gains justify the potential long-term damage to customer loyalty.