What is bracketing in ecommerce?
Bracketing is when a shopper orders the same item in two or more sizes or colours, planning to keep one and return the rest. Surveys put it at roughly half of online fashion shoppers, and most retailer responses, such as return fees, act after the order. This page covers how common it is, what it costs, and how to reduce it where it starts: the size choice.
By the Rendered Fits team · Updated 21 October 2026
What bracketing means
Bracketing is ordering the same item in more than one size or colour, trying them at home and sending back the ones that do not work. The National Retail Federation describes it as "buying multiple items with plans to return some". In fashion it is mostly about size: a shopper who sits between a medium and a large orders both, because the return is free and the risk of guessing wrong feels higher.
From the shopper's side it is rational. From the brand's side, one of every two units in that order is a return before it ships: two lots of pick and pack, return postage, inspection, and stock that sits out of sale while it travels.
How common is bracketing?
| Finding | Source |
|---|---|
| 62% of UK shoppers have ordered several sizes or colours to keep one and return the rest; ordering several sizes is the most common form | fulfilmentcrowd survey of 1,002 UK shoppers, reported January 2025 |
| 51% of Gen Z shoppers bracket, against 24% of Baby Boomers | NRF and Happy Returns, 2024 and 2025 reports |
| 58% of US shoppers said they had bought items intending to return some | Narvar survey of 1,040 US adults, November 2021 |
| Close to two-thirds of US consumers admit to at least one costly returns behaviour, bracketing included | NRF and Happy Returns, October 2025 (2,006 consumers) |
| 47% of retail executives name bracketing as a common form of return abuse | Appriss Retail and Deloitte, December 2024 |
Surveys ask the question differently, so the figures do not add up to one number. They agree on the direction: bracketing is normal behaviour for a large share of online fashion shoppers, and it is more common among younger ones.
What it costs a fashion brand
- Returns are a large share of online fashion sales. Coresight Research put the US online apparel return rate at 24.4% in 2023, with size and fit the top reason at 53% of returns.
- Each return costs real money. The same report quotes Optoro's estimate that processing a return typically costs about 66% of the product's price, once postage, handling, inspection and markdowns are counted.
- The totals are large. The NRF and Happy Returns projected US retail returns at $849.9 billion for 2025, 15.8% of sales, with 19.3% of online sales returned.
- Stock is tied up. While the second size is in transit or waiting to be checked, another shopper cannot buy it, which matters most on limited runs and popular sizes.
Not every bracketed order is a loss: some shoppers would not buy at all without the safety net. The aim is to remove the reason to bracket, not to punish the shopper.
How retailers have responded
| Approach | Example | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Charge for returns | Zara UK, £1.95 for drop-off returns (May 2022); H&M UK, £1.99 for non-members (September 2023) | Cuts casual returns but makes ordering feel riskier, which smaller brands feel more than large ones |
| Charge high returners | ASOS UK, a £3.95 fee for customers with high return rates (from October 2024) | Targets the behaviour but needs return-rate data per customer and clear rules |
| Warn on the product page | Amazon's "frequently returned item" label on some US listings (2023) | Tells the shopper there is a problem but not which size to pick |
| Shorten return windows | Common across retailers | Changes timing, not the number of sizes ordered |
| Help at the size choice | Size recommendations and a prompt when two sizes of one item are in the basket | Needs good size charts; the only approach that removes the reason to order two |
Most responses act after the order, on the return. We found no major retailer that documents a prompt at the basket when the same item is in twice in different sizes, although industry commentators have suggested it. That is the cheapest point to act, because nothing has shipped yet.
How to reduce bracketing at the size choice
- Publish a size chart people can use. Text, not an image, in cm and inches, labelled as body or garment measurements. Our guide to making a size chart covers each step.
- Add a fit note to every product. "Runs small, size up" or "relaxed, size down for a closer fit" answers the exact question that makes people order two sizes.
- Give the model's height and size. It is a reference point every shopper can use in the photos.
- Recommend a size for the product. A size recommendation tool reads your chart and fit note against a few details from the shopper and suggests one size for that garment.
- Prompt when two sizes of one item are in the basket. A short, friendly message that offers the recommended size and lets the shopper keep both if they want. Do not block the order.
- Measure it. Track how many orders contain the same item in two sizes, before and after, on the same products and season.
How Rendered Fits handles it
Rendered Fits is a Shopify app that recommends a size for each product from the brand's own size chart and fit notes. On the Complete plan, if a shopper adds the same item in two sizes, the app can prompt them before checkout with the size it recommends; the shopper can still keep both. The analytics show how often that happens. A virtual try-on image helps with how a garment looks, but it does not show fit, which is why the size comes from measurements.
See how size recommendations work on Shopify, or read ways to bring down online clothing returns.
Frequently asked questions
What is bracketing in online shopping?
Bracketing is buying several versions of the same item, usually in different sizes or colours, to try at home and return the ones that do not work. It is most common in clothing and shoes.
How common is bracketing?
Surveys differ, but they agree it is widespread. In a 2025 survey of 1,002 UK shoppers, 62% said they had ordered several sizes or colours to keep one. The NRF and Happy Returns found 51% of Gen Z shoppers bracket, against 24% of Baby Boomers.
Why do shoppers bracket?
Mostly because they are unsure of their size in that brand or garment, and returns are free or cheap. Size and fit was the top reason for online apparel returns in Coresight Research's 2023 study, at 53%.
How can a fashion brand reduce bracketing?
Remove the uncertainty that causes it: a readable size chart, a fit note on each product, the model's height and size, a size recommendation for each product, and a prompt when two sizes of one item are in the basket. Return fees reduce it too, but they act after the order.
Is bracketing return fraud?
No. Bracketing is legitimate behaviour that retailers allow, though some reports group it with wardrobing as return abuse because it raises costs. Fraud means returning stolen, used or different items.
About Rendered Fits. Rendered Fits is a Shopify app for fashion brands that recommends a size for supported products from the brand's own size chart, and can show shoppers an optional AI try-on preview. There is a Free plan, and Complete is $349 a month with a 14-day trial.
Related: Fashion Returns Index 2026 · Reducing fashion returns with try-on · How to make a size chart · Fit and sizing glossary