As the price of goods and services has risen across the board, frustrated consumers have searched frantically for new ways to save when shopping online. Unfortunately, some of them may have crossed ethical lines in an attempt to avoid paying full price.
Nearly half of U.S. and U.K. consumers — 49% — admit to abusing retailers’ policies within the past 12 months, often doing so as a way to avoid paying full price for goods. That’s according to a recent survey of more than 4,000 shoppers conducted by The Harris Poll for Forter, an e-commerce fraud prevention company.
The survey found that, among surveyed U.S. consumers:
- 30% have committed “wardrobing,” meaning they buy expensive items they couldn’t otherwise afford and wear them for outings before returning them.
- 19% intentionally order more items than they need or want in order to qualify for free shipping, all with the intention of later returning the unwanted items.
- 15% create their own unauthorized “try before you buy” service, meaning they buy more items than they need or want, try them all on, and then keep what they like best before using free returns for the rest.
- 11% open multiple accounts with the same retailer to take advantage of promotions multiple times over.
An overwhelming percentage of survey respondents — 68% — say retailers make it easy for consumers to abuse flexible return policies. Among the folks who admit to such abuses, 29% say they have engaged in the questionable behaviors to avoid paying full price.
The practice of “wardrobing” is particularly widespread among young shoppers, with 46% of U.S. consumers and 48% of U.K. consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 admitting to such behavior.
The situation puts retailers in a tough spot, because cracking down on such abuses risks alienating customers. Nearly half — 48% — of shoppers say they buy more from retailers with lenient return policies, while 16% admit to refusing to shop with retailers that have made return policies stricter.
In a summary of the survey findings, Ozge Ozcan, Forter’s chief customer service officer, says:
“Policy abuse is costing retailers billions of dollars. While consumers react to economic shifts, becoming more intentional and savvier with their spending, retailers must adjust, too. Our report found that a one-size-fits-all approach to any policy — whether it’s returns, promotions or loyalty programs — will leave today’s retailers exposed.
Instead, by knowing who they’re doing business with, retailers can strike the crucial balance between customer-friendly policies and protection against serial abuse.”
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