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In fashion eCommerce, there’s one KPI that keeps hurting profits year after year: the return rate. Everyone agrees it needs to go down. But ask a simple question - who actually owns it? - and most teams can’t give an answer with confidence. More often than not, it lands with the eCommerce team: they run the site, manage the customer journey, and handle returns. But here’s the problem: the root cause of high return rates doesn’t sit in eCommerce, it sits in the product. And if product development isn’t in the room, you’re not solving the real issue.
If your product team isn’t co-owning the return rate, you’re not solving the real problem, you’re just working around it. The top driver of returns? Still sizing and fit. And that’s a product issue. Only product teams have the power to correct sizing inconsistencies, tighten up fit standards, and build more accurate silhouettes. Yet in many organizations, they're not part of the conversation.
It’s time to change that. From return rates being an eCommerce problem to a shared responsibility between digital and product teams. Because the brands that get this right? They outperform the rest. Significantly.
Fit inconsistency is one of the biggest, most overlooked reasons behind high return rates. And it’s shockingly common. Variability doesn’t just exist between brands, it exists within a single brand’s own collections. Across seasons. Across styles.
In one of our large-scale analyses, we found something surprising (and a little shocking): up to a 7cm difference in key measurements for the same size, of the same product, within the same brand. So how is a customer supposed to know what to buy? And how can an eCommerce team handle the returns when things don’t fit? They simply can’t. At least, not alone.
Returns are product feedback in disguise. Every return tells a story: “Too tight.” “Too long.” “Feels cheap.” “Sizing’s off.” But generic comments like these only get you so far. The real game changer is knowing where it’s too tight or too long, for which sizes, and on which products.
That’s where customer and product analytics come in. But only product teams can take this data and turn it into action; adjusting fit specs, refining grading logic, and making smarter design decisions. That’s how you make real, long-term improvements - not by rewriting PDP copy or tweaking your return window.
The smartest brands are treating the return rate not as a cost center but as a cross-functional signal. One that needs both eCommerce and Product working in synergy.
Together, they can identify root issues, act on them fast, and actually reduce return rates - not just manage them. But joint ownership is only part of the solution. You also need the right tools to connect the dots.
To truly cut down returns, you need to understand not just what gets returned, but why. That means linking product details with real customer feedback and actual body types - not just relying on broad market averages. That’s where Data Tailoring Systems (DTS) come in. These next-level tools connect product and customer data in ways that weren’t possible before. DTS helps brands pinpoint fit problems, measure how well products match real customers, and create collections that actually fit.
(That’s exactly what we do at SAIZ, but we’ll let the results do the talking.)
Return rate is one of the most overlooked yet high-impact metrics in fashion. It touches every part of the business; product, eCommerce, logistics, customer experience, and even sustainability. That’s why ownership shouldn’t sit in just one team. Shared KPI. Shared accountability. Shared results.
The brands that reduce return rates the most aren't the ones with the best return policy, they’re the ones with the best internal alignment. When eCommerce and Product Development work together, returns go down. Profits go up. And customers come back.
Want to get your product team involved in return reduction? We’d love to help. Let’s talk.
