The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Fast fashion giant H&M has eliminated free returns for online purchases in the UK, where customers will now be required to pay £1.99 for both parcel returns. However, members of H&M’s customer platform don’t have to pay, and it’s free to register online.
H&M CEO Helena Helmersson said last fall that the company was considering charging for returns in an effort to reduce costs.
H&M joins Zara and Uniqlo in a growing list of retailers that are reconsidering their return policy as shipping costs have surged since the pandemic. Logistics experts say on average, about 20 to 30 percent of online fashion purchases are returned — far higher than the return rate for in-store transactions.
To curb the costs associated with reverse logistics, retailers can also consider partnering with return aggregation services like Happy Returns and Narvar, raising their free shipping threshold to eliminate impulse purchases, or using fit technology to improve more accurate online sizing.
ADVERTISEMENT
The increasing consensus around return fees, however, signal that the most direct method of offsetting costs may be the most effective one.
Learn more:
Is This the Beginning of the End for Free Returns?
For much of the last two decades, online retailers have competed to offer cheaper, more convenient shopping experiences. What happens when one of the world’s biggest apparel sellers bucks the trend?
Editor’s note: This article was amended on Sept. 22, 2023. A previous version said H&M online customers must pay £1.99 for in-store returns. H&M has since updated its returns policy to specify that only parcel returns will be require a fee.
Canada, France and Ireland are among the countries working with home-grown fashion talent to create uniforms for their teams at this summer’s Olympic Games. For these small labels, it’s an unprecedented opportunity to capitalise on one of sports’ largest events.
The online fashion retailer plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of the initial public offering venue and file with the London Stock Exchange as soon as this month, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The company, under siege from Arkhouse Management Co. and Brigade Capital Management, doesn’t need the activists when it can be its own, writes Andrea Felsted.
As the German sportswear giant taps surging demand for its Samba and Gazelle sneakers, it’s also taking steps to spread its bets ahead of peak interest.