Size help and fit questions: reply templates
Wrong sizes are one of the biggest causes of returns in clothing and footwear. A specific recommendation based on the customer’s measurements, plus a word on how the item fits, cuts that down. These replies ask for what you need and say what happens if it still does not fit.
Template
Subject: Which size to go for in {product_name}
Subject: Sizing advice for {product_name}
Subject: Sizing for {product_name}
- {first_name}
- The customer's first name.
- {product_name}
- The product they are buying.
- {recommended_size}
- The size you recommend, for example "UK 12" or "M".
- {fit_note}
- One sentence on how it fits, for example "It runs slightly small across the shoulders, so size up if you are between sizes."
- {size_guide_url}
- A link to your size guide or the size chart on the product page.
- {agent_first_name}
- The first name of the teammate sending the reply.
- {workspace}
- Your shop name.
When to use it
- A customer is between sizes and asks which to order.
- Someone asks how an item fits compared with a high street brand or another product you sell.
- A customer wants to know what happens if the size is wrong before they buy.
If the customer has already bought the wrong size and wants to swap, use the exchange request template. Exchange request
UK consumer law
Buying the wrong size is not a fault, but for most goods bought online in the UK the customer can still cancel within 14 days of receiving them under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, then has 14 days to send them back. Exchanges are a courtesy on top of that right, not a replacement for it. This is a general guide, not legal advice.
How to use it
- 1
Ask for measurements
Ask for chest, waist, hips or foot length rather than "what size are you usually". High street sizes vary too much.
- 2
Commit to one size
Give one recommendation. "Either should work" sends people to order both and return one.
- 3
Describe the fit
Say whether it runs small, large or true to size, and where. That is what the size chart alone cannot tell them.
- 4
Reassure on exchanges
Say briefly what happens if it does not fit, and link the full policy rather than pasting it in.
Common mistakes
- Pasting the whole size chart into the email instead of reading it for them.
- Recommending two sizes. Customers will often buy both and send one back.
- Promising free exchanges if your returns policy does not offer them.
What they usually ask next
If the item arrives and the size is still wrong, the customer will ask to swap it. Exchange request
Related templates
All products and shipping templates- Exchange requestReply templates for size and colour exchanges: check stock, hold the new item, and choose whether to send it now or once the return arrives. Friendly, formal, brief.
- Product questionReply templates for pre-sale product questions about materials, dimensions, compatibility and care. Give a clear answer, a link and a next step.
- Return instructionsClear return instruction emails: how to pack it, where to drop it off, the returns label or address, and when the refund lands. Ready for Royal Mail, Evri and InPost.