# Holiday returns season: what customer photos can and cannot fix

Retailers expected 17% of holiday sales back, per NRF. Which returns customer photos can prevent, and what to change in January.

By Rohin Aggarwal · 2026-10-22

It is the second week of January. The returns bench holds a pile of the same jumper, all in medium. Every slip says "too small". Your product page shows that jumper on one model, in one size. The buyer guessed a size for someone else, and guessed wrong.

**Quick answer**

- **Photos help with doubt about the product.** Size and fit, colour, scale and "not as pictured".
- **Photos cannot fix the rest.** Duplicate gifts, unwanted gifts, transit damage, wrong items and faults.
- **A photo needs a fit note.** "Usually wears M, ordered M, fits loose" turns a picture into an answer.
- **Filter only on facts you collected.** Never guess body type or room size from a picture.
- **Use January.** Read the return reasons, then fix the pages of the products that came back.

This guide gives you a way to sort your holiday returns into two piles. One pile your product pages can shrink next season. The other belongs to operations. The work happens in January, while the reasons are fresh.

- **17%** — Holiday sales retailers expected back (A retailer expectation for the 2025 season)
- **19.3%** — Online sales returned in 2025 (An NRF estimate)
- **$849.9B** — Total US returns in 2025 (An NRF forecast)

_Source: NRF and Happy Returns, 2025 retail returns report, October 2025. US retail._

These totals say how much comes back. They do not say why. Your own return reasons do, product by product.

## Why holiday returns are different: the buyer is not the wearer

Most of the year, the shopper who saw your product page opens the box. At Christmas that often changes. The buyer studied the photos. The recipient decides whether it fits.

So a gift buyer is guessing twice. They guess what the product is like. Then they guess the size and taste of someone else. Customer photos can help with the first guess. A fit note helps with the second.

## Return reasons, and what helps each one

| Return reason | Proof helps? | What helps | What does not |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Size or fit | Yes | Photos with the wearer's usual size and the size ordered | A gallery of photos with no size given |
| Colour looks different | Yes | Photos taken in daylight, at home | More studio shots under the same lights |
| Bigger or smaller than expected | Yes | Photos in a real room or on a real person | Dimensions alone, with nothing to compare |
| Not as pictured: material, finish | Yes | Close photos and video of the real item | Retouched hero images |
| Duplicate gift | No | Gift receipts and easy exchanges | Any product page change |
| Unwanted gift, change of mind | No | A clear exchange or store credit route | More photos |
| Damaged in transit | No | Better packaging, carrier claims | Product page changes |
| Wrong item shipped | No | Picking and packing checks | Product page changes |
| Faulty item | No | Quality checks with the supplier | Product page changes |

_Common return reasons. "Proof helps" means a customer photo or fit note can answer the doubt before the order._

**Where each return reason belongs**
Axes: Proof on the page does little → Proof on the page helps (x), No more likely for gifts → More likely when it is a gift (y)
- Size or fit (high, high) — The buyer guesses for someone else
- Colour (high, low)
- Scale (high, low)
- Not as pictured (high, low)
- Duplicate gift (low, high)
- Unwanted gift (low, high)
- Transit damage (low, low)
- Wrong item, fault (low, low)

## What customer photos can fix

Four reasons come from a gap between the page and the parcel. A customer photo closes that gap when it shows the thing the shopper doubted.

- **Size and fit.** A photo of someone wearing it, plus their usual size and the size they bought.
- **Colour.** The item in daylight, in a normal room. Studio light changes how many colours look.
- **Scale.** A lamp on a real side table. A bag on a real shoulder.
- **Not as pictured.** Close shots of the fabric, the stitching or the finish, unretouched.

A photo that shows none of these is decoration. It may help a shopper feel good about a product. It will not stop a return.

## What customer photos cannot fix

Some holiday returns have nothing to do with how the product looked. Two aunts bought the same book. A recipient wanted a different gift. A box arrived crushed.

No gallery changes those. Send them to the team that can act. Gift returns need gift receipts and exchanges. Damage goes to packaging and carriers. Wrong items go to the warehouse. Track them apart from the four reasons above. A bad week in the warehouse then cannot hide a good January on the page.

> **On "photos cut returns by X%" claims:** You will see claims that customer photos cut returns by a set percentage. We could not find one with a named method we could check. So we do not quote one. Measure it on your own products instead.

## Put a fit note next to every fit photo

A photo of a jumper on a stranger tells a shopper little. They do not know the stranger's size. Add one line under the photo with what the customer told you.

- **Usual size.** "Usually wears M."
- **Size bought.** "Ordered M."
- **How it fit.** "Loose on the shoulders, sleeves long."
- **Height, if they chose to share it.** "5 ft 6."

Use only what the customer wrote. Never estimate a size or a height from the picture. A wrong fit note sends back more parcels than no note.

## Filters by body type or room size: only where the content carries it

A filter such as "shoppers my height" or "small rooms" sounds useful. It only works if most photos on that product carry the fact. If half the photos have no height, the filter hides half your proof.

- **Collect the fact first.** Ask for it at upload, as an optional question.
- **Count before you build.** Check how many approved photos on the product carry it.
- **Never infer it.** Do not guess body type or room size from the image. Ask, or leave it out.
- **Start with a label.** A line under each photo needs no filter and helps right away.

## Review prompts that ask the right question

"Tell us what you think" gets you "Love it!". It answers nobody's doubt. Ask the question your returns are about.

| Doubt behind returns | Ask this | What it lets you show |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Size or fit | What size do you usually wear? What did you order? How did it fit? | A fit note under the photo |
| Colour | Can you take one photo near a window, in daylight? | True colour off the studio set |
| Scale | Where did you put it? Can you show it in the room? | The item next to real furniture |
| Gift fit | Was this a gift? Did the size work for them? | A note written for gift buyers |
| Not as pictured | Can you show the fabric or finish up close? | Detail the hero image smooths over |

_Prompts by the doubt they answer. Keep body and room questions optional._

On our [hosted upload page](/collect-ugc), the welcome message is yours to write. Put the prompt there. The caption field collects the answer. The product picker records which item it is about.

## January: fix the pages of what came back

Holiday returns arrive through January. That makes it the month to change the pages, while the reasons are fresh.

**A January pass on returned products**
1. **Pull the reasons** — Export return reasons by product from your returns tool or store admin.
2. **Sort the piles** — Separate page reasons from gift, damage and fulfilment reasons.
3. **Pick the products** — Take the products with the most page-reason returns.
4. **Change the page** — Add a fit note near the size picker. Put the photo that answers the doubt first.
5. **Ask for more** — Point the upload prompt at that doubt for the next buyers.
6. **Compare next season** — Check the return rate of the same products after the next peak.
_Run it once for your most-returned products. Repeat after the next peak._

- **A size note by the picker.** Write "runs small" only if returns and customer notes both say so.
- **The answering photo first.** If returns say "darker than shown", lead with a daylight photo.
- **Fix a misleading hero image.** If studio light shifts the colour, replace or relabel the shot.
- **A line for gift buyers.** Name the gift receipt and exchange option near the button.

To read the result fairly, compare like with like. The [does UGC reduce returns](/blog/does-ugc-reduce-returns) guide explains why a holdout beats a before-and-after read.

### FAQs

**Q: Do customer photos reduce holiday returns?**

A: They can reduce returns caused by size, colour, scale or "not as pictured". They cannot touch duplicate gifts, unwanted gifts, damage or wrong items.

**Q: What should a fit note say?**

A: The customer's usual size, the size they ordered and how it fit. Add height only if they chose to share it.

**Q: Should I add a body-type filter to my gallery?**

A: Only when most photos on that product carry the fact, collected from the customer. Otherwise show it as a line under each photo.

**Q: When should I update product pages after the holidays?**

A: In January, as the returns come in. Start with the products with the most size, colour or scale returns.

**Your next step:** Export last January's return reasons for your ten most-returned products. Mark each reason as page or operations. Then rewrite the upload prompt for the top page reason before this season's orders ship.

Planning the rest of the season? See the [holiday hub](/holiday), the [pre-purchase returns guide](/blog/reducing-returns-with-pre-purchase-ugc) and the [peak season 2026 readiness plan](/blog/peak-season-2026-ugc-readiness-plan).

### Sources
- [NRF and Happy Returns, 2025 retail returns report](https://nrf.com/research/2025-retail-returns-landscape) — October 2025. Retailers expected 17% of holiday sales back. 19.3% of online sales returned, an estimate.
- [NRF and Happy Returns, total returns](https://nrf.com/research/2025-retail-returns-landscape) — Total US returns of $849.9B in 2025, a forecast. Checked 22 October 2026.
- [Idukki, Does UGC actually reduce returns?](/blog/does-ugc-reduce-returns) — How to measure the effect with a holdout.
- [Idukki, Reducing returns with better pre-purchase UGC](/blog/reducing-returns-with-pre-purchase-ugc)
- [Idukki, Collect UGC](/collect-ugc) — Hosted upload page: welcome copy, caption, rating and product picker.

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Canonical: https://idukki.io/blog/holiday-returns-customer-photos
Tags: returns, holiday, customer-photos, fit-notes, product-pages, reviews, january