As the economy slows and more and more consumers are worried about their bank account balances, a new trend is emerging among serious shoppers.“Returnistas,” as they have been dubbed, are shopping their own closets for items that are still unworn that can be returned for cash. The clothes still have the tags and have not been worn, so according to many stores policies, buyers have the right to bring the items back. The recent economic conditions, however, seem to be causing shoppers to return clothing that otherwise would have sat untouched in their closets.
Though being labeled a “returnista” may simply suggest that the shopper has a case of buyer’s remorse, for those truly devoted to fashion, the cycle may continue. Instead of taking back one or two items once in awhile, the returnista is more likely to shop often and return often.
The thrill of shopping still exists without doing damage to the shopper’s account balance.
Returnistas could become important customers at some stores that have relaxed their return policies in order to entice shoppers to walk out the door with items they are not sure they should buy. In contrast, other stores have made their return policies stricter to avoid losing money from fraudulent transactions.
The end of December is traditionally a time when retailers experience a lot of returns, but as shopping addicts continue to clean out their closets, the trend could continue beyond the holiday season.
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--Bridget O'Sullivan
2 comments:
Anyone interested in swapping clothes instead of returning them out there? If so, join our group at http://www.meetup.com/BostonSwap/
That is sad. When people derive that much satisfaction from shopping, then you have to wonder about the content and character of these type of people and the education system that produced them. Anybody wanna buy a wacky wall climber?
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