A seller we worked with in early 2025 saw return rates jump in a newly opened market while the same catalog held steady at home. Shipping times were within the published window. Packaging was unchanged. The difference sat in how the listings described size, material, and colour.
Cross-border buyers read titles and attribute tables more literally when they cannot visit a physical sample. A Thai size chart that makes sense domestically can understate fit for buyers used to another standard. Photos shot under warm studio light can shift colour perception on phones in brighter climates.
Before blaming logistics partners, split returns by reason code and by SKU. If "not as described" clusters on a handful of hero products, open those listings side by side across markets. Compare title length, attribute completeness, and whether the primary image shows scale.
A practical fix is a listing performance review on the top twenty percent of SKUs by volume in the new market. Annotate gaps, ask your content team to correct the high-traffic items first, and re-measure return reasons after two settlement cycles.
Returns will never reach zero in apparel or accessories. The goal is to remove avoidable mismatches that your own product pages create before the parcel leaves the warehouse.