Asos Unveils New UK Return Policy Amid Ongoing Efforts to Curb Returns

Asos relaxes its measures to reduce returns. The British ecommerce giant has announced an update to its UK returns policy, as a strategy to adjust the controversial 3.95 pounds fee applied to UK users with a higher number of returns, which came into effect in September 2024.

The platform has opted to apply a fee exemption to users whose return history exceeds 70% of the total value of orders, as long as the products withdrawn have a value of less than 40 pounds. This strategy aims to reward small returns from users with high return rates. In other words, users who, although they return frequently, keep most of the products.

This measure comes months after the controversy unleashed by the company for closing accounts of customers who made too many returns. The company insisted in the summer that it was a “small group of customers” who had not made “fair use” of the platform. However, the affected users insisted that the main reason for their returns was an incorrect choice of size.

Thus, from next January 6th, UK users will be able to see their personalized return rate on the Asos app, as well as tips for making more tailored purchasing decisions. The ultimate goal is that customers who reduce their return rate will no longer have to pay the controversial fees.

Asos will be implementing its new returns policy from January 6th in the U.K.

Asos will include videos and 360° views of models wearing the products, more detailed sizing information and personal recommendations through its virtual fit assistant. In e-commerce, the majority of returns and exchanges continue to be due to a poor choice of size.

Asos executive vice president of customer service and commercial, Ben Blake, said the company is “committed to maintaining free returns for all customers in all major markets.“ However, he pointed out that they must be “sustainable”.

Customers can still return defective or mistakenly received products free of charge, although the company reserves the right to refuse refunds when it detects unusual or fraudulent activity, and even to suspend or close affected accounts.

Asos is not alone in waging a war against returns, which in the boom years of e-commerce were the main attraction of specialized companies. Its competitor Zalando, for example, began charging in 2019 in Italy for the delivery of packages valued at less than 25 euros, and then reduced the maximum number of days to carry out returns.

Asos reduces its red numbers

According to the latest data published, the British fashion ecommerce giant managed in the first half of the year to halve its red numbers, despite the insistent fall in its sales. Losses were reduced by 56.2 million pounds ($75.7 million), while gross profit fell by 3.31% to 584.2 million pounds ($787 million).

Asos sales totaled 1.29 billion pounds ($1.74 billion), down 13.75% from 1,497.6 million pounds ($2 billion) in the first half of 2024.