H&M in U-turn over online returns fee in store

Fashion giant H&M has said it will not charge shoppers who return online purchases in store.

On Tuesday, the BBC reported that customers face a £1.99 fee to return parcels in store or online, with the cost taken from their refund.

H&M has since updated its website to say: "There will be no return fee for any parcels returned in store."

An H&M spokesperson told the BBC that the information on its website had been "inaccurate" and had now been amended.

Shoppers who return items bought online to H&M's warehouse will still face the fee. The amendment only refers to parcels brought back to stores.

"Whether it was a genuine mistake or H&M bowed to pressure and changed their minds is hard to tell," said retail expert Jonathan de Mello.

"But they've done the right thing."

Rival retailers such as Zara, Boohoo, Uniqlo and Next already charge for online returns.

Returns can be costly for retailers, and there is also an environmental impact to using delivery trucks to carry goods.

H&M introduced the fee for online returns over the summer.

Mr de Mello said the firm should have offered shoppers free returns of packages in stores from the start.

"Other retailers such as Zara and Next allow free in-store returns of online purchases, so it makes sense for H&M to do the same," he told the BBC.

Mr de Mello said it was understandable that firms might make such changes "by stealth" to avoid a negative backlash.

"But you can totally see why they're clamping down on free returns," he said.

"It's so expensive to process returns and you're seeing so many people buying lots of items online, only to return the vast majority. Something had to change."

H&M members can continue to make returns for free, both in store and online.