Zara charging for returns

[LoveLabradors]

Zara have started charging for returns. What do people think? Better for the environment as might discourage ordering on a whim? Or cost cutting - making the customer pay for a service that should be free? Zara are closing stores so the fact they are saying that returns to store are free is a bit of an irrelevance when for most people the stores are miles away!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61423753.amp

I wonder if other places will follow Zara’s lead?

This pisses me off because at the same time physical stores are closing or reducing what they have, eg John Lewis has gone from.lots of high streets, Gap no longer has a high street presence, go into M&S to find something you've seen on their website and it won't be there, etc. Retailers seem to be moving towards more of an online ordering model, so to my mind should be making this easier for customers. A cap on number of items ordered would be sensible (50-60 items! That's crazy).

Agree on sizes. I ordered a new pair of my favourite Gap jeans, same size, and couldn't get them past my hips. Meanwhile another style in the same size was huge. They don't make it easy for us to keep things!

As an aside, I used to love Zara but find it infuriatingly shit now. Their website is as much of a mess as their shops. I overheard two late-ish teens moaning about their website too - if they're pissing off 45 year old mums and 18 year old alike, they're definitely doing something wrong!

So uniqlo started charging for returns about a year ago.

Now instead of buying one or two things when I want them, I try to save them up until I want to buy several things, therefore saving on postage and potential return costs. If I'm not sure on size I will order several at once, rather then take a gamble and end up paying for more than one return.

Also paying by klarna encourages this as you only pay for what you keep.

I think it’s a good idea. It’s only €1.95 (where I am anyway). It’s not much but it will make me think twice before flippantly ordering stuff I know is likely to go back.

I think fair enough. What I don't like is the fact some shops (I don't mean Zara as I don't shop there) still do not have fitting rooms open so you are almost forced to buy different sizes of the same item. But those in store returns are still free.
If sizing was more consistent, even within the same shop, there would be fewer returns.

I’m really fucked off about their changes to returns, I haven’t ordered from Zara in ages but I ordered a few bits earlier this week as I’m heavily pregnant and suddenly realised I needed more things I could breastfeed in. Can’t go to the shops as I’m meant to be avoiding busy places ahead of a c section next Tuesday (hospital has applied usual guidance around minimising covid before surgery and frankly I don’t really want covid coughs with a new CS scar!) It was tricky to tell what would be feeding friendly but about half of what’s turned up will work, the other half will need to go back.

But I checked out as a guest so I don’t have a link for returns - I’m sure before these changes I did but now I have to go into the shop? So my options are trying to drag myself to a Zara within 3 weeks of having a baby, or having to get someone to drive the 20 miles to our nearest one with my credit card to get it refunded. Right pain in the arse.

There was a programme about Primark recently and one of the reasons they don't sell online is due to the cost of returns.
Bloke said it costs companies £7 to return an item so they would make huge losses as their clothes are all so cheap.

I don't mind paying for returns sometimes but the companies also need to sort out their shit. Incentives such as free delivery if you spend X amount just make people spend the extra knowing they will send stuff back and save the £5 delivery charge.

I have unlimited delivery from next (£20 a year) and ASOS (£10 a year) both with free returns. I know they think this means loyalty but it must cost them a fortune.

The issue with the likes of asos, and it's got worse over the years, is the sheer volume of products they sell and the poor quality and dreadful sizing of all the 'brands'. Even if you order 2 supposedly identical items they will probably be different sizes!
They could halve the number of items they stock and still have too much.

M and S has so much great stuff online but none of them are in the shops. I think if companies want to charge for returns they can cap the number of returns and sort out their sizing, esp given the oversize trend. I ordered a blouse from M and S recently. I went down two sizes after reading the reviews and it was still too large!

Same. I very often order something in two sizes - especially jeans/trousers and shoes - as there's so much disparity between shops and even between different styles in the same shop. But I refuse to pay £2.99 for the privilege of trying something on.

if The cost was built into the item you’d probably not notice it. £37 v £35 for a top for example. I’m fine with paying for returns TBH, driving into town, paying for parking is still more than p&p costs

I hate returns, it's such a hassle, but I just bought something from Debenhams and it's such awful quality, it's going back.

Have never bought from Zara online because of the sizing. It can be unpredictable.

Can you return the stuff to the shops though for free

Yes I don't want to pay to return stuff and only buy a few items at a time

Surely it costs more than £3 to drive a round trip to the shops or get public transport?

Sure but if there is a branch nearby or you are going anywhere

They're targeting a certain customer profile with this: 'haul' purchasers.

They're not though. I'm sure Zara could think up a way of targeting those customers if they so wished - we've already had suggestions on here. They have chosen not to do that and instead to hit all their online customers.

Ah no 😕 I buy 90% of my clothes in Zara (small sizes) but I live in the middle of fecking nowhere, love how easy returns are, oh well, will have to be more careful with sizing. It's why I don't order from ASOS, is actually a deal breaker for me

I never ever properly been to Zara really, can’t see the fuss about this shop.
What’s so special? Also Mango??
I looked online and I am not keen on any.
my favourite shops are H& M, Topshop on Asos, Next occasionally, GAP lately, love their hoodies, Superdry quality is amazing too.
I used to work in central London, Zara and Mango were literally next door and I never went in..
did I miss anything?

Not really a huge fan of zara anyway but I can see how shops will need to rethink their business model within the next few years- the cost of postage, returns and staff to sort it must be astronomical.

Although their stuff is cheap and not the best quality, I have to say SHEIN have exact dimensions of every single product they sell, plus strongly encourage other customers who have bought the product to include photos as part of their review and include their own measurements. So if you're looking at something you've got a pretty good idea of whether it will fit and how it will look on you.

E.g. I'm short- I can click on "m" for a dress and it tells me exactly how long it is and I can look at photos of other women who have bought the size m and see how long it falls on them. Really helpful compared to shops where you can be an xs in one outfit and a L in another (h&m!!!)

Zara's photos are notorious for not showing what the clothes look like properly so it's a bit of a cheek. Having said that I live near two Zara's so it doesn't bother me personally.

I didn’t know Uniqlo charged for returns, super frustrating because they have a dress I like and I tried to try it on in store last Saturday only to find the changing rooms were shut. I’m rarely near a store, my local town is dire these days.

Back in the 80s/90s clothes shopping was an occasional event that involved a trip to the nearest city, I wonder if we’re heading back to that. Might be better, fast fashion is an environmental disaster.

Back in the 80s/90s clothes shopping was an occasional event that involved a trip to the nearest city, I wonder if we’re heading back to that. Might be better, fast fashion is an environmental disaster

I’d be fine with that actually. I’m also willing to pay more for natural fibres and better quality (hence any I’m not a regular Zara shopper anyway). But retailers need to up their game if this is the case, providing a pleasant shopping experience and stocking physical stores properly again.

I’m sure I’m not alone in having been forced online through poor customer service and the inability to buy clothes in the right size in store. But with physical shops not carrying the full range of sizes, and now returns charges for those of us needing to order multiple sizes, it feels like we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.

@TempsPerdu I do agree, I’ve never enjoyed shopping for the reason that I can rarely get a good fit!

@frogswimming I just checked their website again and that what probably puts me off, the presentation is shocking, can’t see anything, poor dark photos, minimalist pages.

I don't mind paying for returns if it's up front and clearly stated online. I haven't been to a physical shop since around 2014 because of my circumstances. I also need returns to be via Royal Mail so I can pay for a collection from my home ( can't get out) or Evri home collection. Sometimes I pay for those rather than use the free drop off rerun that is 10 miles away as I can't get there.

i think as a general thing, it's discriminatory against disabled people and older people who are less likely to be able to get to a store and people on low incomes who won't be bake to budget for a return on top so may not end up buying anything . Being more thoughtful about purchasing isn't a bad thing though I guess

Good, because I'm sick and tired of waiting ages to buy one item at places like Zara because the person in front of me has just bulk bought a tonne of stuff without thinking and is now returning a dozen items at the checkout. It happens so often now.