Comment: Returns set to get a whole lot worse
Let’s show some sympathy for Asos. It has yet again faced customer outrage after closing a number of accounts from individuals it says repeatedly violated its fair use policy. We’ve been here before and no doubt we’ll sadly return again.
Like every other clothing retailer selling online it is having a torrid time dealing with returns that are killing the business models of many companies. No wonder Primark has avoided flogging online with home delivery. Retail Economics calculates that serial returners send back a hefty £6.6 billion of online purchases per year.
Asos called time on what it says was a small batch of these customers and needless to say there was much denial of any offences committed by these individuals. Well they would say that wouldn’t they. Free delivery and returns have ultimately proven to be a killer for the industry and a growing number of retailers have introduced charges. And Asos has gone further by culling the worst of its offenders.
What has been interesting is that along with the outraged customers there have also been plenty of comments made by suppliers of solutions that help retailers manage their returns. They all seem to suggest Asos could have done better with its handling of this situation.
Never Miss a Retail Update!One stated: “This situation highlights that returns are not ‘one size fits all.’ Penalising customers for high return rates can harm brand reputation and customer loyalty. Instead, retailers need a more nuanced, data-driven approach. Machine learning and AI can help differentiate between genuine returns and fraudulent activity, ensuring that good customers are not unfairly targeted.”
I’ve no idea how Asos selected its offenders but I suspect it did in fact use some of these nuanced, data-driven approaches. To suggest otherwise makes them out to be naïve fools. This is undoubtedly not the case and they are doing their best to deal with a tough situation. More retailers should be pro-active at weeding out those shoppers who are taking them for an expensive ride.
We all know some of the causes of the returns disaster – poor sizing, BNPL driving the phenomenon of ‘Try Now, Pay Never’, social media fuelling ‘hauls’ and ‘unboxing’, and items simply not reflected well online through poor images and descriptions. I’m afraid to say that there is some bad news for all retailers. The latter is set to get a whole lot worse, according to Eva Pascoe – long-time pioneer in online retailing, who says the emergence of ‘AI slop’ is set to trigger an avalanche of further returns.
From a Google search I found that this term refers to low-quality, often mass-produced, content generated by AI that is perceived as lacking in value, effort, or purpose. It’s characterized by its abundance and the sense that it’s flooding online spaces, potentially pushing aside more thoughtful or well-crafted content. The term is often used pejoratively, akin to spam, and can encompass text, images, videos, and even entire websites.
At the recent The Retail Bulletin ‘Future of the High Street 2025’ conference Pascoe suggested: “It’s not creating a reality. I spent years working on colours and accuracy of products online but now with AI-made content it is getting worse. It is AI slop and it’s a big challenge. Everything looks good on TikTok. It’s a war between the mirage and reality. It’s a nightmare for customers and returns.”
When Asos gets a pummelling for being proactive with returns it is hardly an incentive for other retailers to follow and remove problematic customers. But they need to be brave and bite the bullet because things could be about to get a whole lot worse.
