If you’ve ever ordered the same item of clothing in three different sizes “just to be safe”, and then returned the two that aren’t right, you’ve bracketed. Don’t worry though, you’re in good company. A recent study revealed that 63% of ecommerce customers admit to bracketing when ordering from ecommerce retailers.
While the process of bracketing might sound harmless, it can quickly become damaging for ecommerce brands. Every return incurs more costs, more operational pressures and more hassle that your business could really do without. During peak retail events such as Black Friday, the rates of bracketing skyrocket – adding an extra layer of stress onto an already manic period.
At GNOC, we aim to help you relieve a little bit of that pressure. We’ll help unpack everything you need to know about managing bracketing as an ecommerce business owner.
Everything You Need To Know About Bracketing
- What is Bracketing?
- Why do shoppers do it?
- How bracketing affects your ecommerce brand
- How ecommerce brands can prevent bracketing
- How GNOC can help manage the effects of bracketing.
What Is Bracketing?
Bracketing, in the context of ecommerce, refers to customers purchasing multiple variations of the same product, with the intention of only keeping one. While it’s a significant resource drain for all ecommerce industries, fashion and apparel brands are likely to be hit the hardest.
If you think bracketing is bad during regular shopping periods, brace yourself for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Peak season turns bracketing into a total logistical nightmare. Why? Because discounts create urgency. If shoppers aren’t sure, they’ll buy all the options rather than risk missing out on a deal. In fact, it’s estimated that 1 in 3 shoppers will return items purchased during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and many of those returns come from bracketing.
Why Do People Engage In Bracketing?
Despite how it might feel, shoppers aren’t engaging in bracketing to make your life harder. Even though ecommerce offers unparalleled levels of convenience in comparison to shopping at physical retailers, there are some drawbacks. For customers, one of the easiest solutions to the challenges that ecommerce brings is, unfortunately, bracketing.
No More 'Trying Before Buying'
Unlike in a physical store, you can’t quickly borrow an ecommerce product for a quick try-on before committing. Shoppers are, instead, having to rely on website photos and generic sizing charts to decipher if a product is suitable for them – not always a fool proof solution. Unfortunately for ecommerce brands, bracketing prevents itself as the most convenient solution to this issue.
Quick and Easy Returns Are a Guarantee
For most ecommerce customers, quick, free returns are a given – a game changer, in fact. 42% of surveyed ecommerce customers have stopped an online purchase because the brand failed to offer free returns. But here’s the catch: offering free returns opens the floodgates for bracketing. Most people won’t think twice about ordering excess and sending back what they don’t want. For brands, it’s a rock-and-a-hard-place situation, balancing customer satisfaction with profitability.
Taking Advantage of Gated Deals
Some customers who engage in bracketing are simply looking for ways to outsmart the system, and they’re getting really good at it. Running promotions that require customers to purchase a certain number of products before getting a reward (10% off when you spend £X, for example) can encourage shoppers to bulk up their baskets to hit the threshold, then return the surplus. Clever? Maybe a little bit. Frustrating for ecommerce brands? Absolutely.
How Does Bracketing Affect Your Brand?
While bracketing can serve as a solution to some of the pitfalls of ecommerce for customers, the brands are unfortunately suffering as a result.
Returns can’t just fly straight back to your warehouse, ready to be rehomed – each order needs to be transported back through volatile courier services, inspected by a quality assurance team and digitally processed before you can even think about sending it back out to customers. These processes take time, time that could be better spent focussing on your brand development.
Not only are bracketed returns a drain on your team, they’re also a drain on your profits. In fact, 80% of surveyed retailers expressed that the costs associated with returns have a significant to severe impact on their business. From the additional staff required to manage an influx of returns, to the costs associated with repairing and repackaging stock – managing returns is expensive. In turn, brands are stuck with a lose-lose scenario. Pass on costs to customers and risk being abandoned for a cheaper alternative? Or absorb the cost and risk dangerously low profit margins.
How Can Ecommerce Brands Prevent Bracketing?
Refine Your Product Listings
By removing uncertainty around your products, you’re removing one of the main causes of bracketing. It’s essential (especially for fashion and apparel brands) that your product photos and sizing information are as accurate as possible, providing full measurements of each product wherever possible. In the same vein, it’s essential that your customers can see a real visualisation of what the product will look like (in other words… go easy on the photoshop.)
Some brands are even beginning to leverage AI to help reduce their bracketing rates. The presence of of AI chatbots able to answer sizing queries in an instant are on the rise, along with the creation of virtual fitting rooms, letting shoppers try items on through VR technology. It might sound like something out of a sci-fi, but it’s real, and it could be the key to reducing your returns rates.
Streamline Your Logistics
Often, people purchasing from your ecommerce brand are facing tight time constraints. Whether it’s a last-minute birthday present, or an outfit for tomorrow’s party – your customers don’t like to wait around.
If your brand has long dispatch and delivery times, your customer can’t afford to make an ordering error. So, if they’re in a hurry, they’ll order all possible sizes to make sure they have the right one, when they need it. The fix? Faster fulfilment. Same-day dispatch and reliable delivery windows reduce the need for panic buying. When customers trust they’ll get what they need quickly, they’re less likely to panic buy multiple sizes.
Consider Implementing Paid Returns
Put down your pitchforks and just bear with us on this one… Paid returns are a minefield, and it can be a difficult balance to strike between keeping your customers happy, and your business in… well, business.
Deducting a small penalty for returns can be a big deterrent for bracketing and can help recoup some of the losses caused by remaining returns. There is, however, always a risk that paid returns will deter customers from remaining loyal to your brand meaning it’s important to find workarounds that keep your business afloat, without scaring loyal shoppers away.
Selective returns charges are the easiest, and least divisive, approach to paid returns. By identifying repeat bracketers, it’s possible to impose small penalties once people have incurred enough warnings about their return volumes. Similarly, you can offer free exchanges, but a small fee for outright returns – rewarding loyal customers, whilst still keeping your head above the water.
How Can GNOC Minimise The Effects of Bracketing?
Bracketing may feel like an overwhelming system to manage, but at GNOC, we know how to ease the burden and keep your ecommerce brand running smoothly.
With our streamlined reverse logistics management systems, we can sort out the logistics of your returns, conduct quality checks and reintegrate into your stock with minimal interruptions – no wasted resources, and no wasted time.
Our digital tools give you full visibility into return patterns. Spot where the bulk of returns are coming from so that you’re able to tweak product listings or introduce selective return charges.
While we manage the returns, you can focus on what you do best: delivering exceptional customer experiences and growing your brand.
Ultimately, it seems like bracketing is one aspect of ecommerce that isn’t likely to be going away entirely. In spite of that, brands are growing wise to it, and with the help of some expert logistics solutions (our speciality,) it’s possible to manage its effects and keep your ecommerce brand one step ahead.
Ready to tackle bracketing head on? We’re on your side, so let’s chat. For a free, no-obligation consultation, visit our website or contact us directly today.
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Feb 19, 2026 8:54:34 AM