Wardrobing is costing retailers dear, Checkpoint Systems

UK retailers are losing up to £1.5 billion in potential sales because customers are returning products after using them, according to research from Checkpoint Systems.

Its study of 1,542 shoppers found that 22% buy items with the intention of using and returning them. This rises to 43% of 16-24-year olds and 39% of 25-34-year-olds, compared to just 6% of over 55-year-olds, with retailers suspecting that social media is influencing the younger generation’s ‘wardrobing’ habit.

Consumers purchase four items per year that they plan to use and return for a refund, with each item costing on average £40.95. Clothing is the most ‘wardrobed’ item, followed by electronics and then shoes. More than a quarter of shoppers said they’d return to a store if they got away with using and returning items.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the research revealed that anti-tamper devices would deter 45% of ‘wardrobers’, rising to 54% of the worst offending 16-24-year-olds and 50% of 25-34-year-olds. It was, after all, carried out by Checkpoint Systems, a supplier of anti-theft solutions.

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