What's your "return rate"? - YouLookFab Forum

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What's your "return rate"?

LaPed

Veteran

I've set a goal to track my purchases this F/W season. (At some point I'll post a sparkly new spreadsheet, but I'm not there yet.) I have some serious wardrobe gaps, but I'm also trying to keep within a budget, so I'm being honing my PPP shopping skills. Almost all of my shopping is done online these days, thanks to a busy schedule and living in a small town with not many retail options. My brick-and-mortar success rate so far for the month of September is a big fat 0, and my online purchase success rate is only slightly better.

Of the 9 items I've ordered so far this season, 6 of them have gone back and only 3 have stayed. 2 of the items that I've kept were direct replacements for lost/worn-out items (and those were both gear anyway, not "street clothes").

To be fair, the items I've tried and returned so far have ALL been footwear. I'm super picky about shoes and have hard-to-fit feet. However, I predict I will have a similar, if not higher, return rate with the pants and tops I have OTW. I have thirteen items on order right now; if my return rate stays consistent, I can expect to add 4 or 5 new pieces to my closet and send back 8 or 9.

Thank goodness for free shipping and returns! Has anyone else calculated their return rate? Does it stay fairly consistent or fluctuate a lot? Do you only return mail-order purchases, or also things you buy locally in-store?

Shopping

34 replies

Latest reply was from Suzanne (ambergreen)

Marilyn

Veteran

I have never kept track of my return rate but it is higher than I would like. I hate the whole buy/return roundabout. But yes, yay for free shipping and returns. I do a lot of online ordering to get petite sizes. I don't generally return things bought in store.

Staysfit

Veteran

I have a high return rate, probably 75%. I shop mostly online. Much of what I purchase online can be returned to local stores. I return items purchased locally just as often but it's because they don't work with what's in my closet as opposed to fit.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

It's high, probably like 75%. I do almost all shopping online so it's just the way it works.

K. Period.

Veteran

Mine is very high for online purchases and I have no qualms about maintaining a high return rate. That is part of the cost of doing e-commerce. My in-person return rate is much, much lower because I can see the color and fabric and evaluate the fit before I purchase, so the majority of the keep/return hurdles have already been passed. I return items quickly, so retailers do not have to worry about taking a price hit as the items get stale. I feel no regret!

Jane

Veteran

I return about two thirds. I find the flexibility of being able to look at things at home really helps to understand whether I want the item.

Astrid

Veteran

I also have a high return rate. I shop online a lot and I no longer keep things where the fit is even a little off. And sometimes items are not what I expected and are returned because of that. I almost never return things I shop in local stores. If I can try it on and it fits and I am still unsure I simply don't buy it. And I don't need to do take it home to know whether it will work in my wardrobe or not.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

My rate is very high.

I ordered one pair of crops in 4 sizes-regular and petite versions of two sizes, picked the one that fit best, and returned the rest. This was in a brand that I knew.

In shoes I usually only order repeats of something I originally purchased in store that the store no longer carries. the exception that I ordered was same brand, different shoe, that I had been eyeing for a while, when it went on triple points last time, but it was a no go.

I ordered a larger size of something I brought home yesterday, so at least one will be going back.

NAS was crazy, the shopping, the multiple size ordering, the returning, etc. So much so that yesterday I made a point of saying hi to the woman at the returns desk even though I had nothing to return.

It would certainly help if I could tell what size would fit without ordering.
Several of my NAS items were at least a size too big, and one was a size too small. And my shoes-11's, with a narrow heel and a square toe area.

But, I have to say, I'm grateful that I live in a country where I have choices, and time to focus on style.

El Cee

Veteran

I do almost all my clothing shopping online and am lucky that I have had a fairly low return rate the last few years (around 10%). Most of the returns were footwear or experimenting with a new brand of clothing where I was not so sure about sizing. I tend to shop brands that I know from experience will work for my height, size and shape so that I do not have as much "hit and miss" as I have had in the past.

Keix

Veteran

What fun! Counting order-a-size-from-the-store as a physical purchase if I tried on one size in person, here's my numbers from recent purchases (excluding socks and underwear but including bras/lounge/gear).

July - online 9/35 = 26%, in-person 2/2 = 100%
Aug - online 7/32 = 22%, in-person 2/2 = 100%
Sept to date - online 3/6, in-person 2/2, pending 9 items (all online)

I actually expected my keep rate to be lower--I think it has been in previous years, but this year I've been buying slightly more essentials/gear online that are easy to fit, as well as a few inexpensive trendy items which are final sale.

I definitely order multiple sizes and take advantage of free return shipping offers.

viva

Veteran

My return rate is also about 75%, and at times even higher. I try to have high standards for what I keep, and the store I buy most from -- JCrew -- is not local to me, so I order a lot from them. Also, Nordstrom (not close), Amazon, and a few others. I rarely return what I buy in-person (no surprise, I guess) but I buy in-person rarely. I prefer free shipping and free returns, but I will sometimes pay for shipping (Anthropologie) if it is an item I can't get elsewhere and/or really really like -- however, I also try to put their items in Finds and hold out for a free shipping or discount event.

I remember a few months ago some stores were giving customers grief for being high percentage returners, but fortunately JCrew is not doing that. Apparently I am keeping enough to satisfy them (despite their stuff fitting me so well, I still return half of what I try there.)

Just adding that I return immediately; often the day the package arrives but definitely within the week. I make K/R decisions pretty quickly. I just hate having unnecessary charges on my card. It's probably guilt more than anything.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

Mine is high. Very high. That was one of my first YLF lessons. I used to think I should keep stuff even if it wasn't a good fit, because it was somehow my fault for not looking good in the store's size.

Author Linda

Veteran

I return maybe 15%, mostly for fit. I order primarily online, for convenience, because I live in an area with abundant shopping option. Online suits me. I tend to buy brands I already know and experiment only occasionally. When I sample a new brand is when I'm more likely to return things as, even if I love the item, I often end up sizing up or down. Fewer purchases are complete fails, but they go back immediately.

Diana

Veteran

I have no idea of exact numbers but I think mine is high (>50%) for online purchases, but very low (maybe 5% if that) for brick and mortar purchases. Most of my online returns are very obvious the minute I try them on, so I don't hang on to them for long. I don't actually usually order multiple sizes of things at once, unless I think it's something that will sell out - I will usually just order one size, and then decide whether or not to exchange it for a different one once I've gotten it.

Things can vary depending on whether or not I am currently obsessed with finding a very particular something. Remember the gold zipper boots? I must have ordered 20 pairs (but over many months) online and funnily enough I ended up finding a pair I loved completely by accident at the Rack in person.

Gaylene

Veteran

Very low, but I'm pretty picky about what comes home with me and very selective about what I order online. My preference for B&M shopping obviously makes a huge difference here, as well as my decisiveness. I rarely second guess my instinctive reaction as to whether or not something is a 9 or 10 when I see myself in a mirror.

I suspect my shopping habits were ingrained in me when I used to make 3-4 hour trek to a larger centre to satisfy my style urges. The thought of an 8-hour round trip just to return an item tended to make me cautious about my purchases. Same goes for the hassles and eye-watering shipping costs of online returns in Canada.

LaPed

Veteran

So fun to see everyone's numbers! Seems like keep one, return two, or even three, is not unusual. Almost all of my local shopping success is thrift stores, so no return rate there. However, I've definitely made some regrettable thrift store purchases -- mistakes that I would never have made at retail price. It's taken me years to figure out how to bring my fit and color goggles to secondhand shops with me. A deal is not a deal if you never wear it...

Viva -- your relationship with J Crew sounds a lot like mine. I go in knowing things most likely won't fit, but I have to try anyway, since there's always something I love the *look* of. J Crew is, oddly, one of my few local retail options, but their in-store selection is very limited, so I usually buy online and return locally. Also, they usually only do free shipping over $150, so sometimes I have to throw some wildcards into the cart to get to the magic number, and just anticipate an in-store return.

Aida

Veteran

Never tracked but for online purchases... Very High

Less often return items bought in store but certainly do if I've brought an item home, had a play with my existing pieces, and find that it doesn't work. I'm probably < 30% returns for b&m bought items.

shedev

Veteran

My fall return rate has been 75%, 3 0ut of 4. I haven't bought anything brick and mortar yet this season.

JAileen

Veteran

Last April Sierra Trading Post sent me an email telling me my return rate was 60 percent. At that time they stopped sending me daily discount codes, and I stopped shopping there. It's too bad because I had found lots of nice things there - Woolrich jackets, Timberland boots, etc. We have an outlet store here, but it only has a tiny fraction of their online catalog.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I've never tracked it, but considering I do most of my shopping online, it's relatively low. That is to say, it is relatively low now. It used to be much, much higher. What's happened is what El Cee describes. After several years of online shopping and testing, I have figured out the makers whose clothes tend to fit me reasonably well and I order pretty much from them. I try to confine myself to stores that offer free delivery and returns anyway -- but it's not always possible for me here in Canada. (J. Crew, I'm looking at YOU. Though sometimes I get lucky and get a free delivery day).

Another of my tricks is to make big-city reconnaissance missions. I do online browsing first so I have an overview of what might interest me. I rarely find my size in store but at least I can touch the item, examine the colours, the fabric, etc. I then go home and order it online if I actually like it in person.

I do sometimes do what you describe -- order a wild card item just to increase my total for free shipping. Those items are riskier, of course.

In any case, I don't feel badly about sending stuff back. Like Viva, I tend to do it very quickly. So it's not as if I am keeping anyone else from having the item.

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Super high to the point of fearing that I'm going to blacklisted or something. I go through cycles where I'm tired of shopping, waiting, and returning, and take breaks before starting starting up again. Shoes have the highest return rate, but I return other items because of fit and quality. Sometimes it takes me longer to make up my mind, other times I do so quickly. My recent experience shopping in-store at Sephora made me realize how much I prefer shopping online. Without a car, the commute to certain stores is too great, and I don't want to be coerced into keeping something that doesn't work simply because I couldn't return it on time.

Thistle

Veteran

Depends.

For brands I know well and shop often (like Talbot's), my return rate is less than 25%. I already know their charming cardis run short, so don't bother no matter how cute. Or that their Weekender tees and tanks fit me like a dream.

Brands I know less well vary, but can run up to 75%

Shoes are the worst. Even a tried-and-true brand can have a style that runs small or large. These returns run close to 75% unless it's replacement shoes (I replace my New Balance walking shoes that have the "Bar" in them every year).

Thistle

Veteran

Interesting to read that some stores are blacklisting shoppers that return too much.

Makes me wonder what those stores that only offer stuff online, or those who have a large chunk of their merchandise as online only are doing.

As someone whose size tends to only be available online from lots of retailers, I'd be pretty angry. I mean, I don't even get the option of trying on before I buy.

Bonnie

Veteran

I shop probably 50% in stores and 50% online, but that's just a guess because I haven't really tracked it. I rarely return store purchases and probably return half of what I buy online. Shoes are my most returned online purchases by far.

Sal

Veteran

In store 2016 - 0%

Online - kept 5, returned 4, so 45%.

I strongly prefer shopping in store but do shop online for range and convenience, and sadly am doing this more for larger chain stores where the retail shop here is stocking a smaller and more conservative range.

DonnaF

Veteran

My return rate is probably 80% or higher. My purchases are almost entirely online and from Nordstrom. I tend to order items in two sizes since I'm a P2/P4, so between a PXS and PS, so that's 50% or 100% return right there. And although I'm a Petite, I sometimes order in Regular or Junior sizes so the risk of the item not fitting is even greater. When an item's length is not listed, it raises the return ante even higher -- Juniors could be too short, and Regular too long. Today, I'm so happy I ordered a jeans skirt in two sizes. I probably would have kept the larger size (and been unhappy when it stretched out) had I not ordered the next size down which seems to fit a bit better.

I am pretty good about not settling and returning items. After one try-on and one gentle wear, the top below had five or so discs fall off. Since it is from Nordstrom, I am seriously considering returning it since it doesn't seem to be suitable for actual wear.

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BrieN

Veteran

My return rate has been really high since joining YLF. I actually delete the entire transaction from my budget when I buy and return with a net $0 because otherwise I would have dozens of entries just cluttering up my 2016 finances. Part of it is being on the cusp of petite, some of it is being different sizes top and bottom, some of it is just not being sure what's going to look good together, etc. And all this returning is after I look at Angie's top pick and/or compulsively read all the reviews of an item.

While I do have a Nordstrom nearby, it seems to not stock the items I want to purchase

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

@Thistle--I don't know if that's the case for anyone, it's just a potential concern I have based on a bad experience at Sephora.

Gigi

Veteran

My return rate is pretty high, because I do most of my shopping online. I would say that it is around 80% or higher. In fact, I often order quite a bit more than I want, because I know that most of it will go back. I'm a stickler for fit, so that's why my return rate is so high. My size is not ordinarily sold in-store; I'm sure that if I could shop in-store, the return rate wouldn't be as high (but it would probably still be high, because I often need time to sit with an item to decide if it's really what I'm looking for).

Aziraphale

Veteran

My return rate is super low, but that's because I shop mostly at brick and mortar shops and I don't buy things unless I'm very confident about them. The odd time I'll cave and buy something online, and most of the time when I do that I have good reason to think the garment will fit -- usually because I've tried on the mainline size in-store, and then I order the equivalent petite size online. I just did this for a pair of Eileen Fisher boyfriend jeans. I tried on the size 0 in the store, and I liked the cut but they were a tad too loose and way too long. So I went online, and while I had the website up I phoned the store (does anyone else do this? Or am I the only one?) to ask for a comparison between the garment measurements for a size 2P and mainline 0 -- the length, the waist, the rise, etc. Once I was satisfied that the petite size was smaller in the right places, I ordered the jeans. So it wasn't a surprise that they fit exactly how I expected.

Now, if I just looked at pictures online and ordered based on that, my return rate would be close to 100%!

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