Bloomingdale's has figured out a way to keep customers from wearing expensive items for big events and returning them the next day.
The retailer is putting three-inch black plastic tags in visible places on garments so the wearer can't easily conceal them, report Cotten Timberlake and Renee Dudley at Bloomberg. Once the clunky tag is removed, shoppers aren't allowed to return the item.
The practice of buying an item with the intention of wearing it once and returning it is called "wardrobing."
Shoppers are notorious for "wardrobing" for big-ticket items like prom dresses and other formalwear.
The problem cost the industry $8.8 billion last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
But Nordstrom told Bloomberg that it didn't plan on emulating Bloomingdale's strategy.
“Our experience is that if you treat the customer with respect, they respect you back,” spokesman Colin Johnson said.