The true cost of returning clothes and penalties for repeat offenders

After 9% of online shoppers have admitted to wearing an outfit on social media and then returning it, ASOS imposed a draconian returns policy where serial returners were penalised

Buying the same item in several different sizes, in the knowledge that you will return the ones that don't fit is known in the retail sphere as "bracketing".

The keep or return trend is sweeping social media where fashion lovers video their latest shopping ‘haul’ and ask followers for advice on whether to return, exchange or keep them. So far, so innocent. The trend caught my eye for a number of reasons.

While my Covid-imposed incarceration forced me to re-acquaint myself with the same four walls, it also saw me familiarising myself with the stock of my favourite fashion e-commerce sites. Despite my reduced wages, the lack of social exchange motivated me to buy bundles of clothes just to feel something. The adrenalin rush, plus the frequent but distanced contact with the postman became slightly addictive, and it was difficult to wean myself off buying purely for the sake of it. Another one of my reasons for wanting new clothes was more practical. My body was bigger in the aftermath of the pandemic, it literally didn’t fit into most of my clothes.