Zara slaps £2 levy on returns

ZARA will begin charging shoppers who return clothes bought online in the post, in a bid to stem the flow of unwanted items.

The fashion retailer is following Next and Uniqlo in bringing in a levy for returning internet purchases.

Research suggests nearly one in three items purchased online are returned, twice the proportion of those bought in store.

Customers must pay a £1.95 return fee, taken from their refund – but items bought online can be returned to stores free.

Handling returns can be expensive for retailers, with Boohoo saying last week that high numbers of them were partially responsible for a downturn in its profits.

Analysts said other retailers are likely to follow Zara in charging to return items.

A spokesman for the company said: ‘Customers can return online purchases at any Zara store in the UK free of charge, which is what most customers do. The £1.95 fee only applies to the return of products at third party drop-off points.’