As the e-commerce boom continues, the dynamics of consumer behaviour are evolving. Consumers’ bedrooms have become the new changing rooms, and ‘haul culture’ has made excessive purchasing the norm. How can brands break the habit?
Free and easy returns have become a cornerstone of online shopping, but the system is increasingly being abused as younger generations in practices such as ‘wardrobing’ (buying items for single use and returning them), ‘bracketing’ (over-ordering sizes or colours to find perfect fit) and ‘staging’ (showcasing products on social media before returning).
More than two-thirds of Gen Zs (69 per cent) admit to over-ordering with a view to returning some items, according to a new survey of 2,000 UK households by e-commerce logistics company ZigZag and research consultancy Retail Economics — compared to just 16 per cent of baby boomers. As digital natives, Gen Zs are more accustomed to the ‘try before you buy’ ethos of e-commerce, where the inability to assess items pre-purchase physically makes returns feel inevitable.
Meanwhile, social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have popularised haul culture: showing off and reviewing large quantities of purchased items. This behaviour encourages over-purchasing, often with the intent to return most of the items after creating content. For young people, the emphasis is on appearance and participation in trends, not necessarily long-term ownership.
Retailers are starting to crack down on repeat returners and charge fees as costs mount. Experts weigh in on how they can get consumers to think before they buy.
“Younger consumers, particularly Gen Z, are far more active on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where targeted ads and influencers constantly showcase the latest trends. This exposure often drives impulse purchases, especially for outfits intended to be shown off on social media,” says Al Gerrie, founder and CEO of ZigZag. Some 15 per cent of UK shoppers admit they have bought clothing or footwear online simply with the purpose of showing them off on social media.
“Social comparison often involves upward comparison, where individuals measure themselves against those they perceive as better. This can lead to self-esteem issues and efforts to ‘keep up’ with others,” says Dr Catherine Jansson-Boyd, professor of consumer psychology at Anglia Ruskin University. Ordering items, using them briefly and returning them is often seen as a cost-effective way to maintain the appearance of keeping pace with societal expectations.
“Many people justify these behaviours by reasoning that as long as they appear to own the items online, it’s harmless,” she continues. “If they believed there was something wrong with these practices, they likely wouldn’t engage in them.” Jansson-Boyd adds that such behaviours have become so routine that they are now considered a normal part of the shopping experience.
Another primary driver of returns is sizing inconsistency, especially in women’s fashion. According to data from ZigZag, 42 per cent of shoppers engage in bracketing to find the right size. This is because “sizing guides differ significantly from one brand to the next, making it a persistent pain point for retailers,” says David Oldeen, founder and CEO of AI-powered sizing tool Sizekick. “Expertise in pattern-making and sizing has diminished over time. Some brands rely on producers who may not prioritise accurate fits, leading to poorly graded sizes that fail to match real human body shapes.”
Breaking the habit
Reducing serial returns is a complex challenge that requires a careful approach. Retailers must strike a balance between curbing costly and unsustainable practices and retaining loyal customers. Overly restrictive returns policies risk alienating shoppers, potentially driving them to competitors.
Some brands have attempted to educate consumers and influence behaviour by offering insights into the environmental impacts of returns — such as CO2 emissions per carrier and per parcel — at the point of purchase. However, changing what many perceive as an entrenched consumer right will require more than just informational nudges, says Amy Knight, personal finance expert and small business commentator at financial comparison website NerdWallet UK.
An easy fix, in theory, is to implement fees for returns as a deterrent — though again, Knight warns that it can be a risky strategy. “A lack of free returns or a shorter return period could be a deal-breaker for some shoppers and might push them towards competitors who are willing to cover these costs,” she says. Nearly half (49 per cent) of online shoppers have abandoned purchases due to unfavourable return policies, according to ZigZag data. Still, fast fashion retailers, including Zara, H&M and Boohoo, have implemented returns fees ranging from £1.99 to £3.95. In September, Asos said it would begin charging some customers with a “frequently high return rate” when returning items unless they keep at least £40 of the order.
At the higher end of the market, brands and retailers are going further to stamp out serial returns. Ssense and Saks, for example, have begun issuing lifetime bans to customers they identify as having excessive returns rates. Net-a-Porter’s website says it monitors the number of returns made by customers to check they are not being used for “commercial, entrepreneurial or professional purposes” and reserves the right to refuse future orders.
“Addressing the volume of returns caused by serial returners demands a nuanced understanding of individual customer behaviours and responses to return policies,” says ZigZag’s Gerrie. “While many serial returners are valuable, loyal customers who contribute positively to a retailer’s bottom line, it’s essential to identify those who are negatively impacting profits.”
With a new mobile-only shopping platform, Amazon is leaning into haul culture in what’s widely seen as a bid to compete with Shein and Temu. Sustainability advocates say it’s a step in the wrong direction.
Increasingly, companies are turning to technology to incentivise better behaviour: for example, using data to track returns behaviours in real-time and tailoring their returns policies to reward shoppers with a low return history via perks like free shipping. Luxury e-tailer Mythersea has found success with this method, employing its own artificial intelligence technology to identify high-spending customers who shop frequently and return less to offer more favourable returns options. It noted a fall in its returns rate in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.
“The goal is not to penalise customers but to guide them towards more intentional buying habits,” says Oscar Rundqvist, co-founder of returns technology company EcomID, which offers AI-tailored fees for customers based on their spending and returns habits (working with fashion brands and retailers including H&M Group, Asket and Björn Borg).
Sophisticated sizing tools, such as Fit Analytics’s Fit Finder and Sizekick, are also playing a growing role in reducing returns, leveraging data and deep learning AI models to offer more accurate fit recommendations. “Most sizing tools ask for basic information like age, weight and height. While this is a start, it’s far from accurate because human bodies are diverse. Generic measurements and simple statistical models can’t fully account for different body shapes,” says Sizekick’s Oldeen. In January, Amazon Fashion introduced an AI-fuelled sizing tool for brands selling on its platform to help their customers find better fits.
However, some say the only real solution is for the industry to move away from trend-led ranges that encourage haul behaviour and instead produce items that can be worn for multiple seasons and occasions. “This is one of the great challenges facing the fashion industry; overconsumption is closely intertwined with the excess returns challenge,” says Siobhán Géhin, retail strategy partner at Deloitte. “Fast fashion is a massive driver of returns. If fast fashion continues to grow as it has been, then the returns challenge will persist and grow.”
To change this requires a rethink of fashion’s business model and customer proposition, she continues, and is therefore “definitely not a short-term fix”. Retailers, consumers and technology providers must work together to reshape habits, prioritising thoughtful purchases and reducing waste — if they can achieve this, a future where convenience and sustainability coexist may feel in reach.
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