Zara starts charging for returns

Zara has announced it will end free returns, charging customers 1.95 euro or 1.95 pounds if they want to return their online order, unless they take it to a shop. For Belgian, British and Irish customers, the rule is new.

Shops preferred

In more and more countries, the chain is implementing a shipping cost if customers want to return their online order via the post or a collection point. The Inditex subsidiary hopes that this will encourage consumers to return unwanted items to a Zara shop, where returns do remain free.

The policy is new in Belgium, Ireland and the United Kingdom, but has existed in other countries for some time. In the Netherlands, for example, the return shipping charge has been in place since February, a spokesperson for parent company Inditex says. The company signals that most customers are already returning orders in physical shops today.