It is a crime called "wardrobing" and Bloomingdale's is making an attempt to stop it from happening to you in the future.
It is more likely to happen with high price items like prom dresses and formal wear, but it also happens with lower priced clothing. People "buy" the clothing, wear it for whatever function they have coming up and then, once the "dinner with the new parents-in-law" is over....they return the item to the store and get their money back. ....And then you or I buy it, not knowing that it has already been worn (beyond the dressing room).
It is illegal. It is return fraud and it costs the industry an enormous amount of money each year ($8.8 billion. That is billion with a B in 2012).
Bloomingdale's new way to combat this retail crime is to attach a big black tag in a very obvious place on the clothing (in the front, near the hem, for example) which, once removed, makes the clothing ineligible to be returned.
Brilliant? Or not? What are your thoughts on this new practice of reinforcing the return policy?
I think this is a great approach to this problem. I had no idea before reading this that it cost the retail industry this much money. By doing this this will greatly reduce their costs and retain more profit. For consumers it is better as well because it will deter "wardrobing" and people will not be fooled into buying clothing they think is new but has been previously worn. I'm curious to see what, if any, Nordstrom's reaction to this policy is. They are very well known for their "lenient" return policies. I'm sure they incur great costs due to "wardrobing" as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that Bloomingdale's strategy to combat the crime of "wardrobing" is a good idea. This is a great way to combat this retail crime. This large tag will make it impossible to wear clothes and return them, which will save a huge amount of money. I didn't know how much "wardrobing" costs the retail industry. More companies should adopt a similar tactic to combat this serious problem!
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