Wrong fitting triggers grief while shopping online

Peter Rankin, VP Sales for Fits.me, said: “Vanity sizing plays a major role in the volume of items purchased in the wrong size. While retailers may find some benefit to flattering consumers with this labelling, the result – as this research shows – is that their online shoppers do not have a good experience if they subsequently buy the wrong size, or something that simply doesn’t suit their body size or shape. 

"There is evidence in this study of lasting impact on brand perception, suggesting that the cost to the brand goes beyond the physical costs of dealing with returns and may endure for some time.  The moral is: help your shoppers to choose garments that fit them the way they want.”

Retail psychology expert Phillip Adcock agrees that prevention is better than cure, and adds that retailers who understand the grief process could use it to create some highly targeted communications from a retailer to the shopper.  “Obviously, no brand wants to disappoint a customer. 

"But if a retailer knew that a customer had been disappointed, and was most likely to be experiencing grief, think of the possibilities for following that up: the brand could almost come across as a close friend who understood what the shopper was going through, turning a negative experience into something positive after all.”

Denial

58% of all consumers experience some feelings of Denial. 25-34 year old women are most likely to try an item of clothing on several times before dismissing it, while 17% are prepared to wear the item of clothing even if they are not happy with it.

Anger

71% of shoppers feel a sense of Anger.  While two in ten expressed anger at the retailer, 57% of people felt angry at themselves for being the ‘wrong’ shape or not trying it on before purchase. 25% took action by complaining to the retailer or telling their friends to avoid the store in future.

Bargaining

The Bargaining stage is the phase of rationalisation, in which attempts are made to relieve the feelings of Denial or Anger that have been felt. Although it is experienced by 51% of people, it is commonly bypassed – but it is important to retailers as this is the point at which the shopper is seeking a solution to the problem.

Depression

An important phase of deep grief, typically 75% of shoppers reach this stage. Women are most vulnerable to shopper Depression (85% compared to 64% of men) which includes being upset for not being the right shape or size to fit the garment.

Acceptance

Acceptance is the stage where people typically take action.  They either decide tomove on or to rectify the issue.  A very large majority of people (86%) eventually reach this stage.

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