Alibaba

[dzwm87]

Nothing surprising. Return rate has always been high for Singles' Day. It's after all just bringing forward future purchases or consolidating deferred purchases. Nobody complained in the past because e-Commerce companies' share price goes up on massive GMV growth rate narrative. UBS assumes net GMV to be 60% of gross GMV so that already give a sense. The more compulsive it is, the higher the return rate. Livestreaming ecommerce is another example.

Based on personal experience, buying clothes online is a bit challenging because despite the published sizes(some products' guides can be pretty vague), they may not fit as one imagined, or the colour may not be exactly what one expects ? Shoes can be another challenging category - can't really tell the weight / comfort level unless one tries it.

In the article, there are also issues like discounts based on minimum spending amts.

Given the relative short history of online shopping(vs established traditional retail), I guess the online merchants are still crossing the river by feeling the stones ?