Size returns eating the margin
- The problem
- Shoppers order two sizes to be safe, and each return costs shipping both ways.
- Our fix
- Size charts per garment, model measurements and fit notes, with return reasons tracked by product.
eCommerce · Fashion & Apparel
Raqbash is a digital marketing agency in Ahmedabad for fashion and apparel ecommerce brands, from ethnic-wear labels to boutiques moving online. We plan each collection drop around Navratri, Diwali and the wedding season, run catalogue ads and Reels that sell it inside a short window, and publish fit content that keeps size returns down.
Search behaviour
Fashion shoppers discover a look on Instagram, search for it by name and decide on fit and return terms. Fashion ecommerce marketing works when visuals, drop timing and size information are planned together, because each collection only has weeks to sell.
A shopper sees a mirror-work chaniya choli in a Reel in late August, searches for it, opens three stores and a marketplace and zooms into the fabric. A size chart she trusts and a clear exchange policy usually decide the order; without them she buys two sizes and returns one.
Collections sell for weeks, so campaigns must learn in days, and a size return can wipe out a sale's margin. Raqbash, a digital marketing agency in Ahmedabad, builds every drop around Instagram and Reels content shot to one catalogue standard, and reports revenue after returns, not gross orders.
| Search | Where it is answered | What decides the order |
|---|---|---|
| chaniya choli online | Instagram and Shopping ads | Fabric close-ups and a trusted size chart |
| designer kurti online India | Shopping ads and marketplaces | Price against marketplaces and fit notes |
| bandhani saree online | Search and Instagram | Craft detail and accurate fabric claims |
| Navratri dress for women online | Reels and catalogue ads | Delivery before the festival starts |
| men's ethnic wear for wedding | Search and collection pages | Complete looks and easy exchanges |
Challenges
Fashion brands usually lose online margin in four places, and the biggest, size returns, never shows in the ad dashboard.
Services
Raqbash's fashion ecommerce marketing combines five services that take a collection from shoot to sell-through.
Channel playbook
For fashion, catalogue ads and Reels carry each launch; search, SEO and drop alerts keep it selling.
Bars show relative priority in a typical plan, not budget shares or results.
Compliance
Fashion listings follow the ecommerce rules on our parent page; these three points come up most for clothing.
Under the E-Commerce Rules, product pages display country of origin, seller details and the return policy.
These words are used only when accurate. The Handloom Mark and Silk Mark are certification schemes, so we show them only on certified products.
Messages such as "only 2 left" appear only when they reflect real inventory, in line with the dark-pattern rules.
Guidance, not legal advice. Rules change. We design campaigns to respect the current position and ask your legal or compliance advisor to confirm anything specific to your organisation. The full set of rules we follow is on our ecommerce marketing compliance overview.
KPIs & timeline
Fashion ecommerce marketing is measured per collection: revenue after returns and sell-through. Results build drop by drop and are never guaranteed.
A typical pattern, not a promise: results depend on competition, budget and how quickly changes are approved. No one can guarantee rankings or leads.
Month 1–2
Size and colour variants mapped, image standards agreed, return reasons recorded.
Month 3–4
One collection launched with warmed audiences, catalogue ads and Reels.
Month 5–6
Size charts refined from return data; drop alerts reach more buyers.
Month 6–12
Festive and wedding drops run on a tested plan, budget following sell-through.
Ahmedabad focus
Navratri is Gujarat's defining fashion season: chaniya choli and kediyu demand builds from August to October, and the wedding season follows Diwali.
Ahmedabad shoppers know what festive wear should cost, because Law Garden and the city's other street markets set price expectations every Navratri. An online label justifies its price with fabric detail, fit and delivery before garba night, not discounts.
The city's textile and denim base also gives local brands a supply-side story, where the fabric comes from and how it is finished, that separates them from marketplace lookalikes.
Peak months: August, September, October, November.
August–October
Navratri: chaniya choli and kediyu launches, styling Reels and delivery cut-offs.
October–November
Diwali: festive kurtas, sarees and gifting in a crowded national sale season.
November–February
Wedding season: ethnic wear and occasion looks sold as outfits.
We'll review your catalogue ads, photos and return reasons and show where each drop loses margin.
Process
The same six steps as every Raqbash engagement, timed around your collection calendar.
Step 01
Step 02
Step 03
Step 04
Step 05
Step 06
Related work
This anonymised Raqbash case study is a fashion marketplace where development and SEO ran together.
FAQ
Straight answers for fashion founders, designers and boutique owners.
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