Ever since pureplay ecommerce retailers such as Asos and Amazon blazed a trail by offering quick, easy and free returns and refunds, a returns epidemic seems to have been unleashed.

Studies have frequently bemoaned the high cost of these returns to retailers (both in terms of lost resale value and in terms of operational costs) and the proliferation of ‘serial returners’, who return the majority of what they buy.

Social media seems to have exacerbated the situation, giving rise to ‘wardrobing’ and the ‘snap and send back’ phenomenon where customers buy outfits for the sake of one post and then return them. Now, the very same ecommerce companies who unleashed the returns-pocalypse on society are suffering the most from it, and have begun taking actions to penalise the worst offenders.

Should ordinary companies follow suit? For ecommerce retailers faced with a bewildering array of differing advice on how to tackle returns, it can be difficult to know where to start. So, we’ve rounded up the definitive list of sound, common sense tips on the best way to approach returns.