Data
Fashion has the highest return rate of any e-commerce category. Online apparel returns run 25–30%, with fit and size driving roughly 70% of those returns. Virtual try-on is the most direct way to address that uncertainty.
The mechanism is simple: when a shopper sees themselves in the garment, they no longer need to order two sizes and return one. They no longer need to guess whether the drape of a knit will suit their shoulders. The decision becomes visual rather than speculative.
Research from Onix Systems and industry benchmarks consistently show 20–30% return reduction for merchants using virtual try-on. The effect is strongest in categories with high fit sensitivity: tailoring, occasionwear, swimwear, and outerwear.
The cost of a return is not just shipping. It is inspection, re-pressing, re-photographing, restocking, and — for many brands — landfill for items that cannot be resold at full price. A £10–£65 per-unit cost is typical. At 1,000 returns a month, that is £10,000–65,000 in recoverable margin.
Virtual try-on also increases conversion. Shoppers who use try-on convert at higher rates because the purchase feels certain. The combined effect — higher conversion plus lower returns — is why the ROI case is straightforward for most fashion merchants.
By 20–30% on average, with the strongest effect in fit-sensitive categories like tailoring, occasionwear, and swimwear.
Fit and size drive roughly 70% of fashion returns. The remaining 30% is split between quality expectations, colour mismatch, and changed mind.
£10–£65 per unit including shipping, inspection, re-pressing, restocking, and potential landfill for unsellable items.