Seventy three percent of UK consumers want online apparel orders to be shipped from the store closest to them “to limit the environmental impact of deliveries while providing the fastest fulfilment service”.

That’s the finding from specialist fashion brand e-commerce platform Centra whose research among 1,000 UK consumers shows they’re “laying the environmental challenges of sustainability vs speed and price vs environmental impact within the online shopping journey at the feet of retailers”. 

Its ‘What Shoppers Want from Fashion Brands in 2024’ report showed 46% of respondents want to be able to return items for free, despite the environmental and cost impacts but 72% of consumers say fashion retailers’ sustainability claims “need to be backed up by meaningful actions and results”. 

By demographic just 27% of Gen Z consumers expect free returns, increasing by generation to 30% of Millennials, 46% of Gen X respondents and 65% of Baby Boomers.  

A further 70% of respondents argue fashion retailers should do more to offset their carbon footprint and believe technology should be used to bridge the gap.

Meanwhile, 72% of consumers want brands to use their store networks to process online orders and returns to limit their environmental impact while providing the fastest delivery or refund service.  And 68% want retailers to use inventory management technology to allow them to process product returns in-store and use these returned items to fulfil new orders locally to limit carbon emissions.

Martin Jensen, CEO at Centra said: “E-commerce traditionally suits online multi-brand retailers shipping from a few huge warehouses and doesn’t effectively utilise existing retail or store networks, which is both environmentally negligent and logistically inefficient.

“What we increasingly see in our client base, which predominantly consists of fashion brands, is that they are now looking to use bricks-and-mortar stores as powerful fulfilment hubs. Brands are creating an enhanced infrastructure for global deliveries by turning stores into “micro-warehouses” and using stock in these physical stores to route shipments for online orders intelligently and sustainably.”

He added: “As a back-up, the item is reserved from the main warehouse in case local stores can’t fulfil the order, and returns can also be processed in-store, so the customer gets what they want in a faster, more sustainable way.”
 
“This operating model creates a healthier, more holistic business that delivers a huge service and sustainability win, helping brands better meet customers’ delivery and returns experience demands.”