Instagrammers Are Buying Clothes Just for Fit Pics and Then Returning Them

If you’re wondering how all your favorite micro-influencers can afford to refresh their wardrobe every week, a recent Quartz story is here to say they probably can’t, and that a not-insignificant-number are buying clothing just to get a fit off on Instagram, and then returning the clothing right after.

Citing a survey from Barclaycard, the story noted that “nearly one in 10 UK shoppers (9%) admit to buying clothing only to take a photo on social media,” and that “after the ‘outfit of the day’ makes it online, they return it back to the store.”

And while 9 percent might not seem particularly offensive on its face, the “survey omits teenagers, a massive demographic for Instagram,” so it’s not much of a stretch to assume the real number is higher.

Elsewhere, the study found that shoppers between the ages of 35 and 44 are the most likely to engage in the objectively thirsty practice (a demo that probably should be doing that 0 percent of the time, tbh), and that men “outnumbered women,” presumably because we’ve always been the most vain and also because destroyed jeans and scoop-hem tees don’t wear themselves.

Barclaycard said that “the introduction of ‘try before you buy’ policies at online retailers… could be contributing to this trend,” but Quartz noted that the “rise of social media has meant that everyone, not just celebrities, is expected to maintain and curate a personal brand,” which feels like an explanation that holds a bit more water.

And because “we’re constantly documenting our lives and posting them online for public judgement, getting caught in the same outfit more than once — which many see as a faux pas — is almost unavoidable,” the story said, “making returns an understandable tactic.”

But life is a bell curve, so there are, indeed, people “moving in the opposite direction,” Quartz said, and they’re now embracing “work uniforms” and the “concept of… investing in a small number of high-quality pieces instead of lots of trendy, discardable clothes.”

So there’s that.

You can read more about it at Quartz.

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