Sector Focus


Retail Returning habits of online shoppers


Nearly a quarter of online clothing purchases are returned by shoppers – mostly because they don’t fit. These are among the findings of a new report


by EY: ‘Zero clothing returns. Digital future or fairytale?’ The report found that online shoppers return on average 2.2 items out of every 10 of their clothing purchases. Of these returns, a massive 76 per cent are


sent back because they don’t fit. For 60 per cent of online shoppers, the returns policy is one of the most important things they look for when buying on the internet.


‘The majority of online clothes shoppers want convenience of delivery and returns’


EY also found that 50 per cent of online shoppers are happy to buy things online that they’re not sure about, as it is easy to return them – however, 66 per cent of them dislike having to return items. The survey respondents were separated into


‘returners’ and ‘non-returners’, with returners more likely to be female, younger and earning a higher income. Helen Merriott, EY partner and advisory markets


leader, said: “Retailers have a number of choices and decisions to make, the first of which is how they respond to this range of customer behaviour. Our survey results show that the majority of


online clothes shoppers want convenience of delivery and returns. That said, the same shoppers would prefer not to be bothered with the inconvenience of the returns process at all and would buy more online if they were more confident of the fit and knew that the retailer had used leading technology to improve the likelihood of this.” Ms Merriott said: “Within ten years, EY expects


that the clothing supply chain will be integrated, lean and supported by rich digital technologies


which will allow retailers to greatly enhance the online shopping experience of their customers. “This will require digital support for supplier


collaboration, 3D CAD patterns, analytics which model fabric behaviour, body scanning technologies and immersive online and physical store ‘try-on’ avatar experiences; all of this at scale, affordable and fully integrated. While there is no single end-to-end solution which dominates, the technology is available today and we predict that within ten years it will be mainstream.”


The future of retail


limited to a bit of local newspaper advertising and funding the Christmas lights each year. Then the retail world changed


Retail Therapy


By Peter Hardingham General manager, Octagon Shopping Centre, Burton


I have recently completed ten years as the general manager of the Octagon Shopping Centre. In this column, I thought I would briefly reflect on the retail events of the last ten years that have affected the Octagon and look ahead to the future just a little. Back in 2006, the ‘financial crash’


was still some way off and the Octagon was well let. Back then, commercialisation on


the malls – today such an important additional revenue stream for landlords – was almost non-existent. Today it is worth a six figure


annual contribution and at the same time back in 2006 marketing was


48 CHAMBERLINK November 2016


forever. The economic future of ‘bricks and mortar’ retailing was challenged by the growth of online shopping. The loss of high street favourites, such as Woolworths, and the burden of business rates all saw footfall steadily fall. For six years, things were tough,


but by 2013 the corner had been turned. Retailers fought back against the internet by embracing it with ‘click and collect’, new shopping centre investments were developed, such as the fantastic Grand Central in Birmingham and customer service and ‘added value’ became the keys to success. And what of the Octagon? It will


soon see some substantial redevelopment, following its purchase by new owners in 2014. We have also welcomed new


retailers and provide added value marketing with improved retailer engagement and use of social media to help promote their businesses. The rules of customer engagement may have changed, but shopping centre management is just as exciting.


Net effect: Online shopping is not always a good fit. Inset: Helen Merriott


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