Online shopping giants bet on AI to curb clothes returns

From sizing advice via selfies to robot stock-takers, online shopping behemoths have increasingly turned to artificial intelligence in a bid to stem the flow of bad-for-business clothes returns. Up to 30% of fashion items bought on the internet are sent back, according to a late 2024 study by consulting firm McKinsey and the Business of Fashion website — not least because “clients are buying several sizes or styles and returning most of them”.

That practice drags down profit margins. Each returned package costs between $21 and $46 on average given…