Return policy by industry: a guide for every vertical

In brief. A return policy by industry does not change the legal floor: if your shop is based in the EU or directs its activity at EU consumers, there are 14 days to withdraw and 13 closed exceptions, whatever your vertical. What changes is which exception genuinely affects you, how much a product can lose value, and which commercial policy pays off above the minimum.

Almost every guide to "return policy by industry" mixes up three things the law keeps apart: the right of withdrawal (mandatory, the same for everyone), the exceptions (listed exhaustively, and different in practice depending on what you sell) and the commercial policy (voluntary, and where one sector genuinely differs from another). Since 19 June 2026, on top of that, Directive (EU) 2023/2673 requires a withdrawal button and leaves every request on record, so the policy you had written "for your sector" is put to the test with every customer. This guide goes through the most common verticals in European ecommerce: which exception applies, which myth costs you dearly and which commercial policy makes sense in each one.

Why does the returns policy change by sector?

Because the product decides three things: whether it fits a legal exception, how much it can lose value through use and how much it costs to return. The right of withdrawal is the same for a T-shirt as for a television; what is not the same is the likelihood that the customer returns it, the condition it comes back in and what it costs you to sell it again.

Think of your returns policy as a three-storey building:

1. The legal floor, identical for every sector: 14 days, no reason needed, a full refund including the standard outbound shipping, to the same means of payment. It is set by Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights and transposed by each Member State.
2. The exceptions, which are closed but affect shops very unevenly: a cosmetics shop lives with one eye on the hygiene seal; an electronics shop, almost never.
3. The commercial policy, which is yours: extending the period, paying for the return, offering an exchange or store credit. This is where one sector stands apart from another, and it is voluntary.

The most common mistake is copying another sector's commercial policy — or worse, a US shop's — and discovering that it clashes with the European legal floor. To understand the difference between floors 1 and 3 properly, read withdrawal vs. return vs. exchange.

The common floor: what no sector can touch

No product category lets you lower these minimums. If your written policy says otherwise, that clause does not hold against the consumer, whatever your shop sells.

Two of these rows explain almost every difference between sectors. The diminished value rule in Article 14(2), as transposed in each Member State: the consumer is liable for any loss of value resulting from handling the goods other than what is necessary to establish "the nature, characteristics and functioning" of the goods. Recital 47 of the directive illustrates it with a fashion example: the customer may try on a garment, but not wear it. And the exceptions in Article 16, as transposed in each Member State, which we go through one by one in exceptions to the right of withdrawal.

Quick map: each sector and its main risk

The table sums up, sector by sector, the exception that genuinely matters, the myth that costs the most money and the commercial lever that makes the most sense. Figures on each sector's share of returns only appear where there is a serious public source; where there is none, we say so.

The share figures come from the Forschungsgruppe Retourenmanagement at the University of Bamberg (Germany, November 2025) and the Informe Benchmark Anual de Devoluciones España 2025 by ZigZag and Retail Economics (October 2025). Careful: they measure different things — parcels in one case, value in the other — and are not comparable with each other. If you want to measure your own rate without falling into that trap, we explain how in ecommerce return rate: what is normal.

Fashion and clothing: the sector that defines returns

In fashion, almost nothing is exempt: trying on a garment is the customer's right and does not cancel the right of withdrawal. The only common exception is underwear and swimwear with a hygiene seal the customer has broken.

Fashion accounts for most European returns. According to the University of Bamberg, a little over 80% of returned parcels in Germany — and around 90% of items — are fashion. That makes this sector the testing ground for every returns tactic, good and bad.

What the law says. Recital 47 of Directive 2011/83/EU gives the exact example: the consumer may try on a garment, but not wear it. A shirt that comes back with its label and no signs of wear is refunded in full. One that comes back smelling of smoke or with make-up stains may be subject to a deduction for diminished value — if you informed of the right of withdrawal before the purchase — but the withdrawal remains valid.

The real exception. Swimwear, underwear and lingerie are only excluded if they carry a real hygiene seal (a liner or a seal, not the supplier's plastic bag) and the customer broke it. If you do not seal them, the exception does not exist for you.

Commercial policy that works:

• Free, fast size exchanges. It is the resolution that keeps the revenue without touching any right, as long as the refund stays just as accessible.
• Your own size guide, fed by return reasons and your customers' reviews.
• An extended commercial period if you sell during gifting seasons; always on top of the 14 days, never instead of them.

What you cannot do: require the original label as a condition for withdrawing, charge a handling fee or block customers who return a lot within the period. In Germany, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH, 16 March 2016, VIII ZR 146/15) made it clear that the consumer does not need a reason to withdraw.

Footwear: fit is everything

Footwear follows the same rules as clothing: the customer can try it on and withdraw, and the box is not a seal. There is no Article 16 exception designed for shoes.

According to the ZigZag and Retail Economics report, footwear accounted for 27% of the value returned in Spain in 2025. It is a sector where the dominant reason is fit, and where the condition of the product is visible at a glance: a sole worn down by the street is not the same as one that has only stepped on a rug.

What the law says. Trying shoes on at home, on a clean surface, is the handling you would do in a physical shop. Walking in them down the street is not. If the shoe comes back with a marked sole, you can apply diminished value — on condition of prior information — but you cannot refuse the withdrawal.

Costly myth: "no box, no return". The retail box is not a sanitary seal. Its absence can justify, at most, a deduction for diminished value if the box is part of the resale value (a limited edition, for example), not the loss of the right.

Commercial policy that works: a size conversion chart across brands, real insole measurements in centimetres, and a note on the product page saying whether the model "runs large" or "runs small" according to your own returns. And the size exchange as a prominent option, alongside the refund, never instead of it.

Cosmetics, beauty and hygiene: everything revolves around the seal

In cosmetics, the hygiene exception only applies if the product carried a sanitary seal and the customer broke it. A cosmetic returned unopened can be withdrawn like any other product.

This is the sector with the best-known and worst-applied exception. Point (e) of Article 16 excludes from withdrawal "sealed goods which are not suitable for return due to health protection or hygiene reasons and were unsealed after delivery". Three conditions, and all three count:

1. There must be a seal. Heat-sealed film, a foil under the cap, a tamper-evident seal. A cardboard box with a tab is not one.
2. The product must be unsuitable for resale on health or hygiene grounds once opened. A lipstick or a cream, yes. An unused make-up brush is debatable.
3. The customer must have unsealed it. If it comes back sealed, the exception does not apply.

What you have to do: state on the product page, before the purchase, that the right of withdrawal is lost if the seal is broken. For objective exclusions like this one, the product stays excluded even if the notice is missing, but not giving it is a breach of the information duties in its own right (Art. 6(1) of the directive), sanctionable separately.

Commercial policy that works: selling trial formats or samples so the customer can discover the shade or texture without risking the full product. And if you offer a shade exchange as goodwill on opened products, call it what it is: a commercial concession, not an obligation.

Food supplements and personal care products (toothbrushes, razors, intimate hygiene products) follow the same seal logic. Do not treat them as perishables unless they genuinely spoil within days.

Jewellery and accessories: engravings, piercings and gold

In jewellery the right of withdrawal applies as it does to any product, except for personalised pieces and, when they carry a hygiene seal, certain earrings. Precious metal on its own does not exempt a piece of jewellery.

Personalised goods. A ring engraved with initials, a bracelet with a name or a made-to-measure piece fall under point (c) of Article 16: goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised. Choosing the size of a catalogue ring, on the other hand, is not personalisation.

Piercing earrings. These can fall under the hygiene exception if they are sold sealed and the customer breaks the seal. If you ship them in a pouch with no seal, the exception does not protect you. If you sell many of them, seal them and say so on the product page.

Gold and market prices. Point (b) of Article 16 exempts goods whose price depends on fluctuations in the financial market which the trader cannot control. It is designed for products such as investment gold. Applying it to a finished piece of jewellery, whose price includes design and manufacture, is debatable: do not use it without first consulting a lawyer.

Commercial policy that works: for gift jewellery, an extended commercial period and an exchange card with no price on it. And for personalised pieces, a preview of the engraving that the customer confirms before paying: it reduces disputes and records their specifications.

Electronics: opening the box is trying the product

In electronics, opening the box and switching the device on does not cancel the right of withdrawal or justify a flat restocking fee. The exception that does apply covers software or recordings on a sealed medium that the customer unseals.

The ZigZag report puts electronics at 23% of the value returned in Spain in 2025. It is a sector with high basket values, where every return hurts, and where plenty of practices imported from the United States circulate that do not stand up in Europe.

Costly myth: the "restocking fee". Charging a percentage to restock an opened device is common in North American shops. In a European withdrawal it has no place: Article 14(1) only lets you pass on the direct cost of returning the goods, and only if you informed beforehand. If the customer used the device more than was necessary to check how it works — for example, a drone that comes back with dents — the route is diminished value under Article 14(2), calculated case by case, not a flat fee.

The real exceptions:

• Point (i): sealed audio or video recordings, or sealed computer software, that the customer unseals. An opened physical video game, yes. An opened console, no.
• Point (m): digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, if performance began with express consent, acknowledgement of the loss of the right and confirmation on a durable medium.

Do not confuse withdrawal with the guarantee. A device that fails is a lack of conformity, governed by the legal guarantee: at least two years under Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, and some countries extend it. Do not use the withdrawal form to process faults, or the other way round.

Commercial policy that works: a first support contact before the return ("have you tried updating the firmware?"), offered as optional help and without blocking the withdrawal. And a clear notice that the customer must erase their personal data before sending the device back.

Home, furniture and mattresses: bulky items are expensive

In homeware, an unsealed mattress can be returned, made-to-measure furniture cannot, and the cost of returning bulky items must be disclosed before the purchase. Three rules, three different sources.

Mattresses: the judgment that settled the debate. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled on 27 March 2019, in case C-681/17 (slewo), that a mattress from which the customer has removed the protective film does not fall under the hygiene exception. The reasoning: the seller can clean or disinfect it to resell it, just like a garment. The exception in point (e) only covers products that, once opened, cannot be put back on the market for health or hygiene reasons. The judgment is about mattresses, but its test — can it be cleaned and resold? — is the one a court would in all likelihood apply to pillows, duvets or bed linen with no real sanitary seal; as far as we know, there is no specific judgment for each of them.

Made-to-measure furniture. A kitchen designed to the customer's measurements or a sofa upholstered in fabric supplied by the customer are goods made to their specifications (point (c)). The CJEU ruled on 21 October 2020, in case C-529/19 (Möbel Kraft), that this exception depends on the subject matter of the contract, not on whether manufacturing has started: the customer cannot withdraw even if they tell you before you cut the first piece. A catalogue sofa in one of three available colours, on the other hand, is not made to measure, and neither is one where the customer picks the fabric from your swatch range: that is still a catalogue option.

Cost of returning bulky items. Article 6(1)(i) requires that, if the product cannot normally be returned by post, you disclose the cost of returning it before the purchase. If you do not, you cannot pass it on. For the detail of who pays in each case, see who pays return shipping in the EU.

Inseparably mixed goods (point (f)). This affects products such as fuel or poured aggregates: after delivery they are mixed with other goods and cannot be separated. It is rare in a home decor shop, but it exists.

Assembly. Assembling a piece of furniture to check its stability may be part of trying it or may go beyond what is necessary, depending on the case. If it goes beyond, the consequence is diminished value, not loss of the right.

Sport and outdoor: use, size and dated activities

In sport, the right of withdrawal applies as it does in fashion or electronics depending on the product; the difference is how much use the item reveals when it comes back. Trail shoes caked in mud have not been "tried on", they have been used.

Technical clothing and footwear. These follow the fashion and footwear rules: trying them on at home, yes; going for a run, no. If the product comes back used, the tool is diminished value with prior information.

Equipment with a hygiene seal. Mouthguards, certain accessories worn in contact with the body and sealed sports nutrition can fall under point (e) if they carry a real sanitary seal and the customer breaks it.

Bikes and assembled equipment. A catalogue bike can be withdrawn. A bike configured to measure (frame built to the customer's measurements, components chosen piece by piece) may fall under point (c). The line lies in whether the product was made for that person or chosen from standard variants.

Dated activities (point (l)). Entry to a race or a place on a course on a specific date are leisure services with a set date of performance: they carry no right of withdrawal. Equipment sold alongside the entry does.

Commercial policy that works: free size exchanges on technical footwear, and product pages stating the intended use ("for road", "for mountain") to cut down wrong purchases.

Food, drink and flowers: perishable is not the same as packaged

Food that spoils or expires rapidly has no right of withdrawal; packaged food with a long shelf life does. The line is the time it takes to deteriorate, not the "food" category.

Point (d): perishables. Fruit, vegetables, fish, bread, cakes, ready meals and cut flowers. They spoil within days and cannot be resold. Live plants are an in-between case: it depends on how quickly they deteriorate in transit; do not declare them exempt wholesale without looking into it.

Long-life packaged goods. A tin of preserves, a packet of coffee or an oil with months of shelf life are not perishable. They can be withdrawn. If they are sealed for hygiene reasons and the customer opens them, the exception in point (e) may also apply.

Point (g): alcoholic drinks. This only exempts alcoholic drinks whose price was agreed when the contract was concluded, whose delivery can only take place after 30 days and whose actual value depends on market fluctuations the trader cannot control (wine en primeur, for example). An ordinary bottle of wine from the catalogue can be withdrawn.

Commercial policy that works: a voluntary freshness guarantee ("if it arrives in poor condition, we'll replace it") is good for the brand and separate from the right of withdrawal. And a product that arrives spoiled is not a withdrawal: it is a lack of conformity, and no exception comes into play there.

Personalised and made-to-order goods: the most stretched exception

A personalised product cannot be withdrawn if it was made to the customer's specifications; choosing between catalogue variants is not personalisation. It is the exception most shops try to stretch, and the one that causes the most disputes.

The criterion comes from Article 2(4) of the Directive: goods that are not prefabricated and whose production is determined by an individual choice or decision of the consumer. The useful question is: do I make it from something this customer decides, or from options I already offer everyone? Being hard to resell is an indicator, not the test.

What you have to do: state on the product page that the personalised product does not allow withdrawal, and keep the specifications the customer gave (the engraving text, the photo, the measurements). If there is a dispute, they are your evidence.

Digital products, tickets and services

Digital content and services do carry a right of withdrawal; it is lost only if specific formal conditions are met before performance begins. Here, unlike physical goods, the exception depends on what you do, not only on the product.

• Digital content not on a tangible medium (point (m)): ebooks, recorded courses, downloadable software. The customer loses the right if they started the download or access with their express consent, acknowledging that they lose it that way, and you sent them confirmation on a durable medium (an email or a PDF). Without those three things, they keep the right of withdrawal.
• Services (point (a)): a consultancy or a session fully performed, if it began with express consent and acknowledgement of the loss of the right. If they expressly asked you to start within the period and withdraw halfway through, they pay the proportion already provided (Art. 14(3)).
• Tickets and bookings for a set date (point (l)): concerts, workshops, accommodation bookings for a specific date. They carry no right of withdrawal.

How the period is counted in each case is explained in the 14-day period: when it starts.

How to set up your policy by sector in Shopify

Shopify does not know which of your products are exempt: you have to identify them, say so on the product page and reflect it in your returns flow. These steps work for any vertical.

1. Take an inventory of exceptions. Go through your catalogue and flag only the products that genuinely fit one of the 13 points of Article 16. Everything else allows withdrawal.
2. Tag the exempt products in Shopify (for example, hygiene-sealed, personalised, perishable). You will use them for the product page, for filters and for your returns tools.
3. Inform on the product page, before the purchase. A clear line along the lines of "This product cannot be withdrawn once unsealed". In your terms and conditions, refer to that information.
4. Review your Shopify returns policy (Settings → Policies) so it separates the legal right from your commercial terms. For the full operational process, see Shopify returns: the complete guide.
5. Define the commercial layer by sector: extended period, who pays the return beyond what the law requires, whether you offer an exchange or store credit. Remember that store credit only replaces the refund if the customer expressly accepts it and incurs no fees as a result: we explain this in refund or store credit.
6. Add the withdrawal button if at least one product in your catalogue allows withdrawal, which is the usual case.

Where returnEasier fits. The withdrawal button is on every plan, including the free one, and every request is sealed with a date, a time and an auditable record. In the commercial flow (Pro plan and above) you can exclude products from commercial returns by Shopify tag: products with those tags cannot be returned through that flow. That exclusion does not affect legal withdrawal: if a tagged product does not fit any exception in Article 16, the customer keeps their right to withdraw and the button remains available to them. Deciding which products are legally exempt is still up to you.

Common mistakes by sector

• Fashion: treating "tried on" as "used" and refusing the withdrawal instead of applying, where appropriate, a diminished-value deduction.
• Footwear: requiring the original box as a condition for accepting the return.
• Cosmetics: declaring the whole shop "no returns for hygiene reasons", including products that come back unopened.
• Jewellery: applying the gold-price exception to finished jewellery without legal advice.
• Electronics: charging a flat restocking percentage for opening the box.
• Home: refusing to take back an unsealed mattress, or failing to disclose beforehand the cost of returning a bulky piece of furniture.
• Sport: confusing a dated entry (exempt) with the equipment sold alongside it (not exempt).
• Food: treating a tin of preserves with a year's shelf life as perishable.
• Personalised goods: calling any made-to-order product "personalised".
• Digital: starting the download without capturing express consent and acknowledgement of the loss of the right.
• Every sector: copying a US shop's policy without running it through the filter of European law.

Frequently asked questions

Does each sector have its own withdrawal period? No. The minimum legal period is 14 days for every sector (Art. 9 of Directive 2011/83/EU). What changes is which products fit one of the 13 exceptions and how much an item can lose value. Above that minimum, you can offer a longer commercial period.

Can I refuse to accept the return of an opened cosmetic? Only if it carried a seal for health or hygiene reasons and the customer broke it after delivery (Art. 16, point (e)). If it comes back with the seal intact, it is withdrawn as normal. The retail box is not a sanitary seal.

Can a mattress be returned if the customer removed its protective plastic? Yes. The CJEU ruled in case C-681/17 (27 March 2019) that an unsealed mattress does not fall under the hygiene exception, because it can be cleaned and resold. At most, a deduction for diminished value may apply if the use went beyond trying it.

Can I charge a restocking fee on an opened electronic device? Not within a withdrawal. You can only pass on the direct cost of returning the goods, and only if you informed beforehand (Art. 14(1)). If the use was excessive, the route is diminished value under Art. 14(2), calculated case by case.

Can a personalised product be returned if I have not made it yet? No, if it is made to the consumer's specifications: the CJEU (C-529/19, 21 October 2020) said the exception depends on the subject matter of the contract, not on whether manufacturing had started. Choosing a catalogue size or colour is not personalisation.

Can food be returned? Perishables cannot (Art. 16, point (d)). Packaged goods with a long shelf life can, unless they are sealed for hygiene reasons and the customer opens them.

Which sector has the most returns in Europe? Fashion. According to the University of Bamberg, a little over 80% of returned parcels in Germany are fashion. In Spain, ZigZag and Retail Economics split the value returned in 2025 like this: clothing 31%, footwear 27% and electronics 23%.

If I only sell exempt products, do I need the withdrawal button? The button is only mandatory for contracts with a right of withdrawal. If your whole catalogue is genuinely exempt, the obligation does not reach you; but as soon as one product allows withdrawal, the button is mandatory.

Can I have a different returns policy for each category? Yes, in the commercial part (extended period, shipping, exchange or store credit). Not in the legal floor: 14 days, a refund with no reason needed and exceptions only if the product fits one of the 13 in Article 16.

Conclusion

If your Shopify shop is based in the EU or directs its activity at EU consumers, start by separating the three floors: the legal floor, which is the same for everyone; the exceptions, which you apply product by product only when they genuinely fit; and the commercial policy, which is where your sector competes. Take an inventory of your exceptions, disclose them on the product page before the purchase and do not copy practices from other markets without running them through the European filter. A returns policy well designed for your sector does not reduce rights: it reduces avoidable returns and disputes.

💡 Ready to comply effortlessly? returnEasier installs a compliant withdrawal button on your Shopify shop and seals every request with a date, a time and an auditable record, in the 7 EU languages. Try it free — 3 trial returns, no card required.

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Official sources

• Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights (arts. 6, 9, 13, 14 and 16 and recital 47) — EUR-Lex
• Directive (EU) 2023/2673 — EUR-Lex
• Directive (EU) 2019/771 on contracts for the sale of goods (art. 10) — EUR-Lex
• CJEU, judgment of 27 March 2019, case C-681/17 (slewo) — EUR-Lex
• CJEU, judgment of 21 October 2020, case C-529/19 (Möbel Kraft) — EUR-Lex
• BGH, judgment of 16 March 2016, VIII ZR 146/15 — Bundesgerichtshof
• Forschungsgruppe Retourenmanagement, University of Bamberg — record of 550 million return parcels in 2025
• Informe Benchmark Anual de Devoluciones España 2025 (ZigZag and Retail Economics) — summary in Marketing4eCommerce

Informational content; not legal advice. For specific cases, consult a lawyer specialised in consumer law.