Everyone knows the disappointment of ordering clothes online and being so excited to finally receive them… and then they don’t fit. What happened? You always order a size medium so why doesn’t that top fit properly? Here is the answer:

As surprising as it is, the sizes of clothing stores differ, depending on where they were produced and designed. A large is not always the large you are used to. Foreign clothing stores might also provide European or other countries sizes. That’s why it is important for online boutiques to feature a sizing guide on their page. Sizing guides usually give the exact range of inches for every size offered. With this information, shoppers can measure themselves at home if they are not sure about which size to choose.

Not only for shoppers a size chart is beneficial. Making sure customers buy the correct size can prevent returns, unhappy customers, bad reviews, and can even increase sales because of customer satisfaction. Research has shown that retails experience an average of 28% in returns while 80% of these are due to sizing issues. A clear and detailed sizing chart plus a solid Terms of Service can also help back you up when a customer wants to return a product.

Tips:

Easy to understand size chart

Most of the time, just small, medium and large is not enough. It is important for online shoppers to have some reference on how the garment fits on their body. Providing measurements like the length of inseam, sleeves and waist size will give a better idea of what to expect.

Provide additional information that doesn’t lean on numbers and measurements

Not everyone has a measuring tape at home or knows their measurements. That’s why it is important to also provide other guides to follow. Your customers have to be able to determine their size without knowing their measurements.

Providing information about the cut of the item like wide or form fitting as well as fits true to size or not can help customers understand and determine which size to choose.

The positioning of the size chart:

Make sure your size chart is visible or easy to find right when a customer clicks on a style. It is all about the convenience. Having to search for information is discouraging and leads to an abandoned shopping cart or an unfinished sale.

Reviews:

Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your page, mentioning the fit and sizing of the product. It will give your new customers a reference. Having someone else share their experience can help not only to choose the right size but to gain trust in the brand and the online shop.

Returns:

Make returning an item convenient for your customer. Sometimes it needs a few tries to find the right size for a piece and making it difficult to find exactly that, destroys trust and comfort. These customers will most likely not return to your store. Keeping them confident that they will find what they are looking for makes your customers return and refer your offers to potential new customers.

All in all, to avoid returns and keep customers happy, it is important to make finding the right size as easy as possible. The more work you put into providing information, the more you will get rewarded with sales.