What Should Be Done About Younger Shoppers’ Bracketing Habits (and Returns More Broadly)?

Building upon a body of evidence recently outlined in the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2025 Retail Returns Landscape report comes a smaller study issued by Locus Robotics, a “flexibility-first” warehouse automation company.

The top-line data from the survey indicates that nearly two-thirds (61%) of Gen Z apparel shoppers intentionally bracket their purchases, purchasing a number of styles and sizes with the intent to keep a single unit – a figure which can be compared to just 15% of baby boomer consumers in the same segment. A majority (52%) of millennials admitted to the same practices, while 37% of Gen Xers said the same.

Younger U.S. shoppers in apparel, beauty, and skincare are also far likelier to engage with social media for discovery, and to purchase goods immediately after discovery.

“Retail fulfillment operators are facing an entirely new reality, where demand patterns can change in hours and days, not seasons,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics.

“We’re seeing this firsthand with a record number of peak robot requests to help retailers around the world respond to demand surges. The generational shifts underscore why warehouses need automation that can flex with volume, adapt across workflows, and evolve as consumer behavior and business needs continue to evolve,” Faulk added.

The numbers at least somewhat align with NRF’s 2025 figures, which present the following behavioral categories with a focus on Gen Z consumers:

• Those admitting to bracketing: More than half of Gen Z shoppers (53%), versus 36% overall.

• Admitting to wardrobing, or returning used items: Gen Z shoppers (49%), against 27% overall.

• Empty box returns: Gen Z shoppers (33%), versus 18% overall.

• Decoy returns: Gen Z shoppers (39%), versus 20% overall.

• Admitting to bending the truth at times: Two-thirds (66%) of Gen Z shoppers, against 45% overall.

“For retailers, Gen Z represents both future growth and present risk. While they do tend to spend more and influence broader consumer trends, their higher return rates and irregular returns behavior add complexity to operations. Addressing these patterns will require policy changes, innovation (i.e., AI-driven fraud detection), and customer experience investments (such as sizing tools and reviews) that align with Gen Z’s expectations,” the NRF study reported.

According to the NRF, on a top-down analysis, Gen Z shoppers between the ages of 18 and 30 made 7.7 returns of online purchases over the past 12 months (as of 2025) versus 7.1 for millennials, 6.5 for Gen Xers, and 4.8 for baby boomers – the most of any generation.

Questions for further discussion:

• Do you believe that bracketing and wardrobing habits exhibited by Gen Z and, to a lesser extent, millennial shoppers can be addressed without creating damaging friction? Why or why not? What concrete steps would you advise?

• What do you think is driving the proclivity for Gen Z and millennial shoppers to engage in the above behaviors, as well as fraudulent or deceptive returns? What can retailers or brands do to proactively address or even reframe this reality?

• Given that Gen Z and millennial shoppers return more items, legitimately or otherwise,than their older counterparts, what can be done to bring these expense figures down to a more palatable figure?