London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Zara starts charging shoppers for online returns

Zara starts charging shoppers for online returns

Fashion giant Zara has become the latest retailer to charge shoppers who return items bought online.

Customers now must pay £1.95 to return clothes, with the cost taken from their refund. Items bought online can still be returned for free in stores.

High Street firms such as Uniqlo and Next already charge for online returns.

Online shopping boomed in the pandemic, but customers are more likely to return items bought online than in store, raising costs for retailers.

Analysts said other retailers were likely to follow Zara in charging for returns.

"It's a growing trend, it started pre-pandemic and it will continue, as online shopping continues to grow," said Nick Carroll, Mintel's associate director of retail research.

Allowing free in-store returns may help drive people back into shops, Mr Carroll said.

"You also get the products back into shops quicker, which is more cost effective, and plus you have the possibility of impulse purchases once the shoppers are in the stores."

Online shopping rose strongly during the pandemic, but this has also meant a big increase in the number of items being sent back because they do not fit, or are not as expected.

For fashion retailers, returns can be costly.

Earlier this month, fast-fashion brand Boohoo said soaring returns were partly to blame for a slump in its annual profits.


'Not cool'


Zara's decision to stop free postal returns has been criticised by some customers online.

One person wrote on Twitter: "Zara making changes to your free returns which now cost your customers and making no announcement about it? Not cool."

Another said she was "very disappointed" by the move, adding: "Expected better from you. The best, quality brands don't charge."

But another praised the decision for its environmental impact, saying it was a "great measure to help stop C02 emissions".

A spokesperson from Zara told the BBC: "Customers can return online purchases at any Zara store in the UK free of charge, which is what most customers do.

"The £1.95 fee only applies to the return of products at third party drop off points."

Legally, people have a right to claim a full refund for products that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, provided it is done within 30 days of ownership.


Zara aren't the first and they wont be the last big retailer to start charging for postal returns. Shops have been desperate to benefit from the boost in online sales, but none of them want the logistical headache and financial cost of processing returns.

Where a return in a shop can be processed quickly, and physically put back on a rail ready for re-sale, it's a very different picture online. Items need to be returned via a courier, sent to a warehouse, unpacked, cleaned, and then put out for re-sale, and that process is not just more expensive, but means clothes in particular may have missed their season.

There's an environmental impact of delivery vehicles making returns which many shoppers are becoming more conscious of, but pandemic habits of shopping and returning directly from your home will be hard to break without a financial hit for the customers.

The real win for the stores would be nudging the customers into not returning online items at all. Zara are hoping to strike the balance with a return price that puts the customers off a return without putting them off a purchase.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×