Asos has announced a change to its returns policy, leading to speculation it could be axing free returns for some shoppers.

In an email to both Premier and non-Premier members over the weekend, the ecommerce platform said it would be making changes to its “fair use policy in relation to returns” during the next couple of weeks, Sky News reported.

The email added that the new policy would only apply to a “small group of customers”.

The move comes after Asos altered its free returns policy in the US last year, with shoppers now charged $4.99 for returns if they are considered to “constantly take actions that make providing them with free returns unsustainable”.

Others across the wider industry have been stepping up efforts to reduce returns of late, as earlier this month, consumer watchdog Which? revealed that over half of the biggest online fashion retailers do not currently offer free postal returns.

The consumer choice firm looked at the returns policies of the 20 biggest online fashion retailers and found that 12 did not offer free postal returns.

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