Daily Mail

What sort of woman spends £25,000 on clothes and returns £20,000 of them?

It’s a growing trend, the ‘serial returners’ who send back most of what they buy online — driving up prices for the rest of us

- By Alice Smellie

YOU may not be one — but chances are you will know one. Women who spend thousands a year buying clothes online that they have no intention of keeping. They are known as the serial returners — and they are on the rise.

according to industry figures, up to 40 per cent of all online fashion purchases are returned while 63 per cent of women have returned an item within the last six months. Barclaycar­d say that 30 per cent of us deliberate­ly over-buy and plan to return purchases.

But while swapping a crowded changing room for trying on items in your bedroom may seem a vast improvemen­t, serial returners — especially those who even wear clothes before sending them back — are costing us all.

for experts now say clothes prices are rising in an attempt to recoup profits.

as online shopping continues to grow, the volume of returns is reaching a tipping point — generating huge costs for retailers, such as charges for home delivery and processing returned items at specialist agencies that steam clean and re-package clothes.

But in a world where free delivery and returns are increasing­ly the norm, women are reluctant to give up the habit.

here, ALICE SMELLIE meets the women proud to call themselves serial returners . . .

BUYS £25,000 RETURNS £20,000

SINGER Parry Ray, 46, lives with her husband, Jotty, 48, who works in finance, and their two teenage children in South London. IT COMES as no surprise that retailers are feeling the pinch. as i watch the steady stream of couriers pound the path to our house, i’m surprised anybody is making a profit from online clothes. if i’m representa­tive of women, the cost of my returns to companies is surely outweighin­g the profits made.

i like to feel ahead of the curve fashion-wise, but as a working mother i don’t have time to take a day off to wander up the King’s Road.

Now, i keep a keen eye on my favourite websites such as Net-a-Porter, Matches, harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Zara. as soon as a new trend comes in, i invest. if it doesn’t suit me, i whizz it back.

it’s the intelligen­t way of navigating through the extraordin­ary range of clothes available. if you are busy, and can’t justify a day spent shopping, bulk buying online is the perfect alternativ­e.

i sometimes buy the same styles in both high end and high Street online shops to compare them.

Online clothes shopping is a pragmatic fashion choice, but i can’t deny that i love bags being delivered to the house.

Even though i may not plan to keep everything, there is a thrill as i unfold tissue paper to reveal the beautifull­y folded clothes beneath.

i met my husband when i was 18, so he knows what i’m like. he just rolls his eyes when he sees the parcels.

Some months i spend as much as £2,000, but most purchases go back. i try to always use free delivery and returns, so it doesn’t end up costing me much.

My 19-year- old daughter also loves online shopping, though she is happy trying things on in Topshop, whereas i can’t face badly-lit changing rooms packed with teenagers. Perhaps we are breeding a new generation for whom shops will simply be pick-up points for the clothes and items they have bought online.

i have friends who buy expensive dresses, keep the tags on and wear them before sending them back, but i’d never do that. apart from anything, i’d be the one covered in red wine at the end of the evening.

it sounds ludicrous, but i find browsing fashion websites cathartic. it’s time off from a busy life.

BUYS £15,000 RETURNS £14,500

KIMBERLEY Woodhouse, 49, is an office manager who lives in Kent with her two teenage children. AFTER a long day at work, the sight of a parcel in the hall gives me extra energy and happiness that carries me through supper and tidying up, knowing that there’s a little treat for me (or one of my children). it doesn’t matter that i may not keep it.

i suspect i’m a shopaholic, but as i spend little actual money, what’s the harm? it’s all about the thrill of clicking on check- out and the anticipati­on of receiving exciting parcels. Every day can be like christmas day if you buy enough!

Once my new clothes arrive, however, i’ll probably lose interest. My bedroom is festooned with dresses and jackets carefully hung in their plastic bags, tried on, rejected and ready to be sent back.

Most evenings are spent browsing through my favourite websites: The White company, Selfridges, house of fraser, Net a Porter and laura ashley. if i see items i like, i add them to my basket.

The courier knows me so well if i’m not in he delivers parcels to my mother, a couple of streets away.

i rarely pay for returns and keep a beady eye on offers on my favourite websites. if i see items i’ve already bought but that are now on sale, i return the current lot and repurchase at the lower price.

i leave labels on until i am absolutely sure i’m going to keep them.

Sometimes — i think we’ve all done this — i wear a dress out, decide i’m not that keen and send it back, in good condition, of course.

i’ve only dared do it on a couple of occasions, and drunk a single glass of white wine each time to ensure the outfit stays in perfect condition.

if you were returning the clothes to shops there’d be the agonising wondering if they’d challenge you. No such embarrassm­ent if it’s faceless.

in our consumer society we’re all about instant gratificat­ion. Retail outlets have damaged themselves by allowing us to send it all back so easily. and you save money by not paying for parking and petrol.

BUYS £7,500 RETURNS £7,000

DIGITAL marketing consultant megan mepham, 29, lives in brighton with her husband, Nicholas, 34, a businessma­n. PERHAPS i represent a new generation of retail. This is how all women in their twenties and thir--

ties shop. For us, it’s the norm.

I’m going to Ascot this week. But I didn’t take a day off to shop for hours looking for my outfit. Rather, I braced my credit card for the £1,000 I spent on dresses, all of which went back except the chosen one.

The whole process is fun, looking online, choosing a couple of different sizes and opening up the packages of beautiful clothes.

Young women my age wouldn’t dream of going to the shops for serious buying. It’s something that you might do with a friend for fun. But serious occasion shopping? Not a chance. We don’t have the time or inclinatio­n.

This is how I’ve lived for the last five years.

When I got married last year I bought more than 20 bridesmaid­s dresses for my two girlfriend­s. Of course 18 were sent back to House of Fraser, Asos, and Coast. There was never any question of leaving the house to try them all on in shops — we just didn’t have the time.

I love nothing more than spending a Sunday afternoon in my dressing room with my week’s purchases. In the summer it’s lit by natural light from the large window, and in the winter by the soft glow thrown by the glass drop chandelier. I’ve got a 7ft-high double mirror so I can see myself from most angles.

Here, I unpack the piles of clothes I’ve had delivered during the week, often £200 or more worth of tops, dresses and trousers from a variety of outlets such as ASOS, H&M, New Look and Zara. I can take as long as I like trying shoes and jewellery.

When deciding whether to keep my purchases or not, I often like to get my friends’ advice. But I’d never wear the clothes out before returning them. Frequently, I take a picture of myself on my mobile and send it to friends.

Why would anyone go to ill-lit dressing rooms full of other people when they can do this?

BUYS £13,000 RETURNS £12,000

Company director Sarah Shilling, 40, lives in South London with her director fiance, matt, 42. THREE years ago I had an epiphany. I was standing in the middle of a crowded department Retail therapy: Parry Ray (left) and (above) Megan Mepham store, boiling hot and surrounded by tourists. It suddenly occurred to me that shopping didn’t have to be that way. I could do it all from my laptop in half an hour, then spend the rest of my day off with family and friends.

I haven’t bought clothes on the overcrowde­d High Street since.

In fact, I am so devoted to my online way of life that a note was recently pushed through my door by my neighbour suggesting that she’s fed up of taking my deliveries while I’m at work. She was joking, but we’re both on first name terms with the local Hermes chap.

I probably have a delivery every week, from John Lewis, Net-a-Porter, ASOS, Debenhams, Zara or Pepperberr­y, but would call myself a seasonal shopper, by which I mean that as soon as the weather turns either hot or cold I panic, and bulk buy boots or flip-flops.

I remember once buying a pair of shoes that were so out of my price range I’m surprised the card went through. When they arrived, in a distinctiv­e branded box, I stroked them in awe. They were so fresh and new — there’s nothing like the smell of soft expensive leather. But, like so many things, they simply had to go back.

Big events are planned as though I’m a general mobilising an invading army. I know my size can vary from six to 12, depending on the brand, and will happily buy a dress in three or four sizes, as well as two or three colours. Before you know it you’ve got nine or more of the same style.

There’s nothing worse than loving an item but finding it’s too big or small, so I leave nothing to chance.

If you’re in a changing room, you have to get fully dressed and go back out onto the shop floor to get the alternativ­e sizes. Also, you’re on only allowed a certain am amount of items in changing rooms whereas the sky’s th the limit when you’re buying on online. It does make me sad — we all want to support our high str streets and stop them be becoming rows of empty sho shop fronts. But until they hav have the capacity to stock all the sizes (or — even better —s— standardis­e sizing) and mak make it a less onerous experienc ence, I can’t see myself retu returning. Th The only downside of online sho shopping is that Monday mor mornings are like a walk of sham shame as I leave the house for work laden down with parcels to dropd off at the post office. Jus Just as I’d never wear an item of clothing out and then retur return it, I wouldn’t use work post services to accept or retur return parcels, especially in such large quantities. I’ve hear heard that some companies have banned personal deliv deliveries to their post-rooms for justju this reason!

BUYSBUY £12,00012, RETURNSRET £9,0009,0

Kathe Katherine Busby Busby, 37, lives near y york with her partner, Jerry, 4 47, who works in finance. She stayssta at home with her baby daughter,dau orlaith, who is eight months old. being at home all day with a small baby is fulfilling, but it’s lovely to have something that’s just for me. A clothes delivery is like a present — a beautifull­y wrapped box and a silky dress pulled from layers of rustling tissue paper.

I’m an example of how you can make online fashion work for you. I’m organised, focused, and happy to buy five or ten times what I need to find the right pieces.

On a practical level, living 20 miles from York and with an eight-monthold baby, I can’t and don’t want to spend whole days in shopping centres, but to spend quality time with my daughter. This way I’m a better mother and I get to be well dressed, too.

At the moment, I’m planning my holiday shop, hunting around my favourite outlets such as Matches and Net a Porter for swimming costumes and kaftans.

I make Pinterest boards so that I can see which pieces go with each other. Then I’ll buy everything to try it on for size.

Three times a year I do a huge shop from five or six major outlets; including the above two and Marks & Spencers, Zara, John Lewis and cashmere from Pure Collection. My favourite brands are Isabel Marant and Chloe.

This all costs about £2,500, but I know I’ll only keep a few choice pieces costing a few hundred pounds. For example, I’ll buy four pink T-shirts in different sizes and styles from various shops, but keep just one. And unlike some women, I’d never wear the clothes out before returning them.

Looking after Orlaith and living so far away from big shops, it’s my easiest option. I still want Stella McCartney sunglasses, but don’t have to spend time (and petrol money) getting to the right outlet.

 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom