Fashion store Zara is changing its vision and is following a trend that has been seen in many fashion chains for a while. From February 1, Zara will charge costs for returning products, just like the other brands of the Spanish Inditex.
Online shopping; a trend that has existed for some time but that has gained extreme momentum due to the pandemic. A few clicks and a few days later your purchases will be delivered to your home. Should something not fit or have you been a bit too impulsive? Then you send it back to where it came from with the same ease. However, this way of shopping seems to be coming to an end.
Three ways to return Zara items in Spain
In Spain, Zara offers three ways to return items; in the store, from home and via a collection point. Zara always offered all three options for free to keep the threshold for ordering as low as possible. However, for returns from home, Zara will now charge €1.95 from February 1. This amount will be deducted from the amount that will eventually be refunded. Returns via a collection point and in the store will remain free in Spain for the time being.
Other Inditex brands already charged return costs
With this measure, Zara joins the other brands that fall under Inditex, which have already charged costs to return products. Some examples are Pull&Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Lefties. In-store exchanges and returns remain free, as long as the product is returned to the same country in which it was purchased.
Also read: Inditex sues American fashion brand
More and more fashion companies are moving away from free returns and charging costs when the customer chooses not to return a product to the store themselves.
Additional costs have no effect on purchases in Spain
Despite the fact that returns were previously free, a measure that was created to encourage people to buy and order, it seems that the introduction of costs to return has no impact on sales. An Inditex spokesperson told Spanish newspaper Niusdiario.es that this new rule “has landed well” with shoppers and that it “has not had any impact on sales”.
CEO Óscar García Maceiras says: “From a sustainability point of view, consumers understand that this is a trend that will be implemented throughout the industry in the coming years. Acceptable costs are therefore easy to explain.”
