Gen Z serial returners rise as retailers tighten rules

Ingrid said 53% of Gen Z shoppers are now classed as serial returners, up from 15% three years ago.

Its survey of more than 1,000 shoppers also found that half of Gen Z respondents had had their online accounts suspended by a retailer for returning too many items. Another 47% said they had received warnings that their accounts could be suspended because of their returns behaviour.

The findings highlight growing pressure on fashion and eCommerce retailers as they try to curb the cost of returns without driving customers away. Traditional deterrents such as returns fees and account suspensions are losing their impact, with 38% of all shoppers saying they are no longer put off by such measures.

That share rose to 47% among Millennials. Among Gen Z shoppers, 14% said they actively try to avoid returns fees by selling items on second-hand marketplaces such as Vinted instead of returning them through a retailer's own process.

Retail response

Retailers have tightened policies in recent years, particularly in online fashion, where return rates tend to be high. Brands including ASOS and PrettyLittleThing have adopted tougher approaches, while separate Ingrid research covering 100 UK retailers found that 35% now charge for returns, up 12 percentage points year on year.

Even so, the data suggests charging for returns is not enough on its own. As shoppers adjust their behaviour, retailers face a broader question: how to manage reverse logistics, recover stock more quickly and control the cost of processing unwanted items.

Some consumers appear open to a more targeted approach. Ingrid found that 57% of shoppers want retailers to use AI to flag before checkout if an item has a high return rate among similar shoppers. The aim is to give buyers more information before they place an order and reduce the likelihood of goods being sent back.

A smaller but still notable share also backed more flexible charging structures. Almost a quarter, or 22%, said returns fees should be personalised according to a customer's propensity to return items. Another 14% said they should pay less if they return items quickly, allowing retailers to process them and put stock back on sale sooner.

Changing behaviour

The figures suggest returns are increasingly seen as a normal part of the online buying process rather than an exception. That shift may be especially significant among younger consumers, who often shop across multiple fast-fashion and marketplace platforms and may treat returns as an expected stage of trying products at home.

For retailers, the trend adds to a difficult balancing act. They must protect margins in categories where delivery and returns costs are high while maintaining customer loyalty in a market where shoppers can switch brands quickly.

Few retailers are yet applying personalised returns terms based on a shopper's buying history and previous returns behaviour, according to Ingrid. Under that model, frequent purchasers who return items only occasionally could be offered lower charges, waived fees or longer returns windows, while those with a record of high returns could face stricter terms.

This kind of segmentation mirrors methods already common in other parts of eCommerce, where retailers tailor offers, pricing and delivery options to customer behaviour. Applying the same approach to returns would mark a more direct attempt to distinguish between loyal, low-cost shoppers and customers whose ordering habits are more expensive to serve.

Piotr Zaleski, founder and CPTO of Ingrid, linked the findings to a broader shift in the sector. “What used to deter returns no longer works. Customers have adapted, and for many shoppers, returns are just part of online shopping and a layer of trust,” he said.

He argued that retailers should handle returns with the same level of scrutiny they apply to earlier stages of the shopping journey. “Retailers obsess over personalisation before checkout, but they need to apply the same thinking to returns,” Zaleski said.

Technology can help retailers draw a clearer line between profitable and costly behaviour while moving returned stock back into circulation more quickly, he added. “Dynamic, AI-led returns policies help reward reliable customers while managing costs from serial returners. The faster you process returns, the faster you can re-merchandise - it's a relationship that benefits both sides,” Zaleski said.