// Zara has introduced a £1.95 charge for online customers that return items
// The move comes as clothing returns rate spike as customers return to more trend-led items
Fashion giant Zara has started charging customers to return products bought online.
Since the beginning of May, Zara shoppers have been charged £1.95 to send back items, with the fee deducted from their refund, according to The Industry.Fashion.
Items bought in store can still be returned to shops in the same region free of charge.
Inditex-owned Zara’s move to charge for online returns will be watched closely by other fashion retailers in the face of spiking return rates.
READ MORE: Asda trials doorstep parcel returns for George fashion line
Boohoo revealed last week that soaring return rates had impacted its full-year profits. The fast fashion retailer said customers had returned items at a higher rate than before the pandemic.
It is thought people are sending back more items as they buy more trend-led items. Returns levels had plunged across the fashion industry during lockdowns as people bought more loungewear, which is less fit oriented.
Returns have long been a costly headache for fashion retailers and have eroded margin.
One in three fashion items bought online are sent back, according to returns specialist ReBound. This is around double the rate for shop-bought goods.
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