Sweden-based clothing retailer H&M has introduced a fee for every parcel returned by non-members either in-store or online.

According to a report by the BBC, the retailer, which is one of the leading clothing retailers across the globe, will charge £1.99 to take back items unless the items are being returned due to being faulty or incorrect.

The return fee will be subtracted from the customers’ refund and is still exempted for H&M’s free loyalty scheme members.

H&M has already introduced the return fee in a number of other countries in Europe.

The retailer plans to introduce charges to more markets in the coming months.

The Guardian quoted a spokesperson as saying: “We strive to help our customers to find the right size and fit from the outset, in order to reduce the returns rate.”

H&M is the latest retailer to charge customers for returns and follows rival retailers, including Zara, Uniqlo and Next.

In May last year, British online fashion retailer boohoo revealed plans to charge its UK customers a fee for returning merchandise.

The decision to charge customers came in response to a surge in the cost of delivering and processing returned items with increased use of the service.

Earlier this year, data provided by parcel delivery management software provider nShift revealed that 20% of items bought online are returned to retailers, costing retailers $642bn a year.