H&M to tweak UK sizes after complaints

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 6, 2018

H&M has given in to pressure from UK customers and will adjust its sizing as a result, which should reduce the amount of online orders being returned. Shoppers in Britain had complained that they found it hard to work out which size they needed, with a size 12, for instance, fitting more like a size 10.

The company's measurements for its womenswear will now follow standard UK sizing, which means existing sizes will be labelled as one size down. 

It looks like the problem is down to the simple fact of incorrect conversions from European sizing. While a European 40 should have been a UK 12, H&M has been converting a European 38 to a 12, rather than a 10.

The move is a direct response to customer feedback and the change has already begun in-store but will also roll out online soon.

H&M said customers will see a transitional period “and are encouraged to use our sizing guides online or ask our store staff for advice when shopping.”

It's an important move in today's multichannel fashion shopping world. Shoppers have complained for many years of varying sizes from a number of different retailers, but with more and more women buying their clothes online, incorrect sizing can make a huge difference between having happy and unhappy customers.

If shoppers have to order multiple sizes or constantly return and exchange goods, they’re less likely to want to go back to that particular retailer. And a large volume of returns because of sizing issues also causes problems for the retailer itself as it adds to costs and the logistical nightmare of having the right inventory in the right place at the right time.