Online apparel sales are growing, but half of consumers who'll e-shop for clothing this holiday season expect to return items because of poor fit.
Bodyblock AI asked 1,200 online shoppers how often they had issues with clothes fitting poorly, how often they returned clothes due to poor fit, and how likely they were to order again from a brand if the clothes they ordered fit poorly.
Half said they expect to return clothing ordered online. Nearly three-fourths, 72 percent, said they had returned items ordered online in the past that didn’t fit. Almost half of shoppers, 45 percent, said they wouldn’t return to a brand if the clothing they ordered didn’t fit or if they received the wrong size.
Nine out of 10, 91 percent, said they had ordered clothes online that didn’t fit right, and 72 percent of shoppers said they use fit predictors and size charts when ordering clothes online. More than a third, 37 percent, regularly buy more than one size of an item and return what doesn't fit.
Jeans and pants were the most commonly returned apparel item for men and women, per Bodyblock AI. Women surveyed reported that sizing on clothes can often feel random, especially when comparing clothes from brand to brand. Eighty-four percent of repondents felt sizing was random or arbitrary depending on the brand.
Eighty-nine percent of shoppers surveyed said they were likely, 28 percent, to very likely, 61 percent, to order more clothes from a brand if the first item they ordered fit well.
In 2017, retail e-commerce revenues from apparel and accessories sales amounted to 93 billion dollars, up from 83.6 billion in 2016, per Statista. Online apparel sales are projected to reach $138.7 billion by 2022.
Over Black Friday weekend, spending on apparel was up 5.4 percent, the best growth since 2011, CNBC reported.
The National Retail Federation expects overall holiday apparel sales will be up between 4.3 percent and 4.8 percent this year. In 2017, clothing stores made 22.1 percent of their annual sales during this period, up from 21.9 percent a year earlier.
However, Retail Dive reports that around $400 billion in merchandise will be returned during the holiday season.
