What do anti-return ribbons do?
As their name suggests, anti-return ribbons or sashes can be attached to your garments or accessories to prevent customers from wearing them once – for example, during a night out or another special occasion – and then returning them to you for a refund.
Why are anti-return sashes important?
Returns are standard practice in the retail industry, and there are of course legitimate reasons for a customer to bring back goods for a refund. If an item of clothing doesn’t fit correctly, has been bought in error, or is an unwanted gift, most of the time, consumers are well within their rights to request their money back, as long as the shop or company doesn’t operate a particularly strict returns policy.
But buying an item with the intention of bringing it back after it has been used – an act known as ‘return fraud’ – is something that’s definitely contributing to the dwindling profitability of fashion businesses.
Generally, returns generally wreak havoc with profit margins, conversion rates and storage logistics, which is why so many companies are constantly trying to find new ways to prevent them from happening. Even if they do manage to follow these best practices, though, recent statistics show that High Street businesses with a physical presence can expect return rates of between 8% and 10%, and ecommerce companies can expect much higher figures, often in the realms of 20% or more, meaning that on average they can expect to see a fifth of their stock returned.
In some cases, the clothes or accessories might be in good enough condition to resell. But even the slightest mark, stain or scuff will significantly devalue the item, leading to an immediate and unrecoverable loss. Add in the time spent processing the fraudulent return and you’re left with even more unnecessary costs to the business!
How can our products help to combat return fraud?
Anti-return ribbons can help to stamp out ill-meaning purchases by flagging up the fact that an item has been used during its time away from the store.
These handy little tags can be attached or sewn into a prominent position on a garment so they have to be removed during everyday wear. If the customer returns the product without the ribbon, it’s a clear indicator that it has been worn or used, and it gives the retailers grounds to refuse the refund based on this violation of their policy.
They can play a great role in your branding strategy, too
Though they serve a fantastic practical purpose, printed anti-return ribbons don’t have to be dull and boring. We touched upon our fantastic range of printed ribbons in a previous post – but to recap, Hallmark Labels can create these multi-use products according to virtually any of your specifications to ensure they support your branding mission.
These silky smooth, luxuriously tactile tags can be printed with your company logo, strapline and any other icons, illustrations and text that will fit into the 25mm wide template. They can be cut to any length, too, although most of our customers purchase 500m, 1000m or 2500m rolls – and, depending on the complexity of your anti-return ribbon designs, we can normally turn around your order within just 3 to 5 days.
Contact our team now to discuss your upcoming order and get tailored design and manufacturing advice from one of the UK’s leading clothing label suppliers!
