H&M is now also charging fees to some of its customer program members.
So far, the Swedish clothing supplier has only charged the fee in Germany for non-members, but since Tuesday a return has also cost 1.99 euros for ‘basic members’, which will be deducted from the refund amount, a spokesman for H&M Germany confirmed when asked by FashionUnited . The company also provides information about this in the “Customer Service” section of the German online shop.
This fee does not affect “Plus Member” members, which customers become when they have reached 500 points. Customers achieve this by shopping at H&M, where one euro is equal to one point, and through additional activities. This includes completing the profile (30 points), handing in discarded clothing (25 points), using your own shopping bag in H&M stores (3 points) and recruiting new members, who must have made their first purchase as a member (125 points).
Return shipping fees in Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands
This regulation will also be introduced to other markets in the H&M Central Europe region in the coming months. In the Netherlands, non-members and basic members have to pay fees from November 1st and in Austria from October 24th. In Switzerland, this regulation has been in effect since mid-September.
“At H&M we offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. We strive to reduce our environmental impact as much as possible and support our customers in doing the same,” said the company spokesman. “For this reason, we are introducing return fees on a larger scale to encourage our customers to shop more consciously. With a clear focus on our customers, we are increasingly integrating our digital and physical channels and developing various features and services to further minimize returns.”
Returns to H&M stores remain free. This excludes, among other things, the Studio collections or other brands that cannot be returned to the store.