NEWS

2023.05.18

UK CONSUMERS PAYING FOR RETURNS YOU SAY? – NOT LIKELY!

– New research confirms that over half of UK online shoppers
do not want to pay for returns –

05 APRIL 2023, UK: Japanese sizing technology specialist, Makip, announces its move into the UK retail and eCommerce market.

The rising volume and cost of returns is a problem that has plagued retailers for years and in 2022, industry research shows that online returns rose to one in three items, costing retailers an average of £20 for every returned package.

This is unsustainable and is driving many retailers to begin charging customers for returns in an attempt to try and offset some of the costs they incur.

Now, new research commissioned by sizing technology specialist, Makip, explains online shoppers would not be prepared to foot the bill for returns if there was no accurate sizing guide available at the time of purchase.

President of Makip, Shingo Tsukamoto, explains, “Retailers must improve the accuracy of their online sizing technology if they hope to claw back some of the costs they incur when shoppers return clothing items.

If retailers can give consumers confidence that the online sizing technology they are using is accurate, they stand not just to reduce the number of items returned  but to improve the customer experience and increase conversion rates.”

The research, conducted in March 2023, confirmed the overwhelming majority of UK online shoppers (96%) would purchase clothing IF they could be confident that the sizing technology used was accurate and it demonstrated how the clothes would fit their body.

Shingo Tsukamoto, continues, “It is clear that UK retailers and customers desperately need accurate sizing technology that recognises unique body size requirements. After all, you cannot have a standard size, when theres no such thing as a standard body.”

However, UK online shoppers do have some sympathy for retailers as the awareness of the environmental impact and cost of returns to retailers increases.

When asked whether it’s acceptable for retailers to charge for returns given the majority of returned items cost the retailer more or end up in landfill  half of UK online shoppers (50%) thought it was acceptable.

Shingo Tsukamoto concludes, “Given that 23 million items of returned fashion were sent to landfill or incinerated in the UK in 2022, it is imperative that the industry works hard to help change consumer behaviour and one critical change sits in providing accurate sizing technology.”

View the full results of the independent market research in the report titled: How UK ecommerce fashion retailers can tackle the crisis in returned orders.

ENDS

Media contact:
Anthony Monks
ITPR
makip@itpr.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7183 8200
www.itpr.co.uk

Notes for Editors

About the research methodology
The research was commissioned by Makip in March 2023 and surveyed 2,000 UK-based online shoppers to understand their experience of online sizing technology. Respondents to the survey had to have used online sizing technology whilst shopping online and purchased a minimum of 11 items of clothing online in the past 12 months.

1. Two key objectives of the research were to understand:
2. 　1.Whether UK consumers have any complaints/ concerns about the existing sizing technology on offer
3. 　2.Whether UK consumers would accept retailers changing the free returns policy to claw back some costs

About Makip: https://makip.co.jp/en

Based in Tokyo, Japan and founded in 2015, Makip.Co.Ltd (pronounced May-kip) is a sizing technology specialist, supporting online retail/ eCommerce and fashion brands with its product Unisize. Unisize helps consumers try on clothing online and purchase the most suitable and accurately sized clothing item first-time.

Makip derives from the mantra Make it possible and has a mission to make the impossible possible through the power of IT using creativity and grit.

Currently, Makip has over 250 brands using their technology, including Japanese leading fashion brands, and occupies the top share in Japan.

Shoppers can try on clothing online within minutes by answering a few simple questions such as age, weight and height.

The Unisize unique sizing technology maps the individuals body size to the clothing item to illustrate how the clothes fit, and it realises “trying-on”clothing online.

Unisize can take as little as one month to integrate with the customer website – delivering a reduction in clothing return rates of 20% and increasing purchase rates by 2.5 times.

Makip provides additional services to solve the problem of incorrect sizing to the Japanese market, and it has plans to localise these solutions and target global markets.

Please feel free to contact us !