So what drives a serial returner?

Size, for one. It’s well known that clothing sizes fluctuate frustratingly from shop to shop, especially in women’s fashion, and when buying online it’s even harder to know if what you’re ordering is actually going to fit.

Almost half of those surveyed said that standardised sizes would stop them from ordering multiple items, and a quick straw poll of the Stylist office reveals similar motivations.

Helen Bownass, Stylist’s entertainment editor, says: “I frequently buy things in a couple of sizes from places like ASOS, where they have a really good delivery and returns policy.

“It’s normally one of two reasons: it’s for something like a wedding and I want to treat my bedroom (or the work toilet) like my own personal changing room, or I’m ordering something really last-minute and am too impatient to risk it not being in the right size.

“However, I always buy with the intention to keep at least one size – I don’t just do it for the sake of it.”

Stylist.co.uk contributor Anna Pollitt agrees: “While I don’t shop online, I often take two sizes of the same clothing into the changing rooms. So if people can afford to pay double, it seems a sensible way to try on clothes as they would on the high street.

“I know people who overbuy regularly – essentially using their bedroom as they would a changing room. I think it's fair play. If a retailer has an open returns policy allowing customers to return items simply because they've changed their mind, I think they should be able to use that system to make sure they have the correct piece of clothing when they want it.”

Almost six in 10 of those surveyed said a retailer's returns policy influences whether they shop there and almost half (47%) of those would actually not order something if they had to pay to send it back.

Retailers say this habitual online shopping trait is forcing them to raise prices