India’s fashion retail scene has long been a place where keeping customers happy often meant bending over backwards—even if it hurt the bottom line. But lately, a quiet shift is happening. Brands are no longer willing to treat returns as just another cost of doing business.
With returns eating deeper into margins, especially for fashion players, many are starting to say: enough is enough. From scrappy D2C newcomers to seasoned luxury labels, companies are introducing tighter return rules and smarter tech tools to plug the leaks—though not without concern about upsetting their most loyal buyers.
“The Indian shopper expects flexible return options, and for the most part, we’re okay with that,” said Anil Pradhan, Business Head at Tiruppur-based TechnoSport. “But when a small chunk of customers repeatedly misuse the system, it begins to take a toll.”
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It’s a tricky balancing act—keeping things convenient without losing control—and brands are now making tough calls.
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At TechnoSport, returns have dropped to about 4%, thanks in part to AI tools that monitor buying behavior. “We use automation to flag accounts that show unusual return activity. In some cases, we tweak the shopping experience—offer better size recommendations or put limits on returns,” said Pradhan.
For Mumbai-based label Mashroo, the challenge is more intense. Co-founder Junaid Khan pointed out that cash-on-delivery returns make up nearly 60% of all returns—while prepaid orders rarely come back.
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“Every time a COD order is returned, we lose on logistics, time, and inventory. It’s incredibly wasteful,” Khan said. In response, Mashroo has moved to an exchange-only policy. No returns—just size or preference swaps, and the customer pays for the shipping. It’s not always a hit, but it’s working. Add-ons like partial prepayments, captcha verification, and confirmation calls have helped reduce misuse, especially in smaller cities.
