What Is Return Rate?
Return rate is the percentage of orders or items that are sent back by customers. It is calculated as (number of returns / number of orders) × 100. In ecommerce, return rates are typically much higher than in physical retail - averaging 20–30% across categories, and reaching 40–50% in fashion and footwear.
High return rates are damaging for three reasons: they destroy gross margin (shipping, processing, and restocking costs erode revenue); they create operational burden; and they may indicate a mismatch between how products are presented online and how they are perceived on delivery.
How Better Visual Content Reduces Returns
The most common reason for ecommerce returns is "item not as described" or "not as expected". When shoppers are surprised by product size, colour, material, or fit on delivery, they return it. Rich visual content - multiple angles, lifestyle context, model images showing scale and fit, accurate colour representation - sets more accurate expectations.
Bryft's AI try-on models are particularly effective at reducing returns in fashion: when customers can see a garment on a model that closely represents their own body type, size expectations are more accurate, and post-purchase disappointment decreases.
Strategies to Reduce Return Rate
- Publish multiple product angles (front, back, side, detail, on-model)
- Add AI try-on model images across size variants
- Include 360-degree views for complex or large products
- Display size guides alongside model images with measurements
- Ensure product images accurately represent true colours
Real-World Example
An online fashion retailer adds AI try-on model images across 12 body types to their PDPs using Bryft. Within one quarter, returns attributable to "sizing/fit expectations" decrease by 31%. The financial impact is significant: a 1% reduction in return rate represents £80,000 in annual savings on their existing revenue base.