What is bracketing, and why are your best customers your most expensive ones?
The behaviour, and who does it
Bracketing is the habit of buying a product in more than one size, or more than one colour, with the intention of returning the ones that do not fit or do not suit. The customer is not being dishonest. They are solving a problem the store created: the size guide is a table, the fit is a guess, and the only way to know is to try it on.
Fifty-one percent of Gen Z consumers bracket their fashion purchases, according to the National Retail Federation, and the behaviour is concentrated among the customers who buy the most. A customer who orders once a year brackets once a year. A customer who orders every month brackets every month, and the returns that follow are the cost of the customer's loyalty.
The behaviour is rational for the customer and expensive for the store. The customer pays nothing for the two items that come back, because the return is free, and the store pays the shipping both ways, the handling, and the margin on the items that were never going to be kept.
The cost, counted honestly
The return rate is the first number. NRF and Happy Returns estimate that 19.3 percent of online sales will be returned in 2025, against 15.8 percent of all retail sales, with total returns at $849.9 billion. For apparel, Loop Returns observed 23.2 percent across 22 million Shopify apparel returns in 2024. A store that brackets heavily is a store whose return rate is above the category average, and the rate is the cost.
The cost per return is the second number. The return has to be shipped back, inspected, restocked or written off, and the payment reversed, and each step costs staff time and money. A return that is resold at full price costs the shipping and the handling. A return that is resold at a discount costs the margin as well. A return that cannot be resold costs the whole product.
The third cost is the behaviour the policy creates. A free-returns policy on a bracketing customer is a policy that pays for the customer to try on three sizes and keep one, and the cost of the two that come back is the price of the sale. The customer who brackets is not a bad customer. They are a customer the policy trained.
The fix is the fit, not the fee
The fix that works is the fit, not the fee. A size guide that is a table is a guess. A size guide that shows the garment on a model with the model's measurements, the fabric's stretch, and the fit of the last season's version is an answer, and the customer who has the answer does not need to bracket.
The second fix is the exchange. A customer who brackets wants the right size, not a refund, and an exchange that is faster than a return and a re-order keeps the sale and loses the return. A store that makes the exchange easy and the return slow is a store that keeps the customer and loses the cost.
The third fix is the charge, and it is the last resort. A fee on the second and third item in a bracketed order, or a charge for the return methods that cost the most, is the price of the return, stated honestly. Sixty-six percent of retailers started charging for one or more return methods in the past year, and the charge is not a punishment. It is the cost of the try-on, paid by the customer who tries on three, instead of hidden in the price paid by the customer who tries on one.
Frequently asked questions
What is bracketing?
Buying extra items, usually sizes, with the intention of returning the ones that do not fit. Fifty-one percent of Gen Z consumers do it, according to the National Retail Federation, and it is concentrated among the customers who buy the most.
Why are my best customers my most expensive ones?
Because they bracket the most. A customer who orders every month brackets every month, and the returns that follow cost the shipping, the handling, and the margin, while the sale that was kept pays for only one of the three items.
What is the online return rate in 2025?
NRF and Happy Returns estimate 19.3 percent of online sales will be returned in 2025, against 15.8 percent of all retail sales. For apparel, Loop Returns observed 23.2 percent across Shopify merchants in 2024.
How do I reduce bracketing without losing customers?
Fix the fit first: a size guide with the model's measurements, the fabric's stretch, and the fit of the last version. Make the exchange faster than a return and a re-order. Charge for the return methods that cost the most, and keep the cheapest method free.