Bracketing

What is bracketing?

Bracketing is the shopping behavior of ordering the same item in multiple sizes (or colors) with the intent to keep one and return the rest. The shopper uses their home as the fitting room and their credit card as the deposit.

Industry surveys consistently find that a majority of online fashion shoppers (over 60% in recent studies) admit to bracketing at least occasionally. It is not abuse: it is a rational response to inconsistent sizing, where a Medium in one brand fits like a Large in another.

Why it matters for merchants

Bracketing inflates two numbers at once: revenue that will not survive the return window, and the return rate. Each bracketed order generates:

• Double shipping costs (outbound and return) on items that were never going to be kept.
• Processing costs: inspection, restocking or liquidation, commonly estimated at 45-66% of an item's price per return.
• Inventory limbo: stock locked in transit and processing during peak season.

What reduces bracketing

Bracketing exists because the shopper lacks fit confidence at purchase time. The countermeasures all attack that uncertainty:

• Accurate, garment-specific size charts instead of generic ones.
• Virtual try-on and virtual fitting rooms, which answer the visual half of the question ("how does it look on me").
• Fit context in reviews ("runs small", "size up").
• Charging for returns shifts the cost but does not remove the uncertainty; retailers increasingly pair it with better fit tools.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is bracketing the same as wardrobing?↓

No. Bracketing is buying several variants to find the right one, with honest intent. Wardrobing is wearing an item and returning it as new, which is return fraud.