Reducing bracketing without raising friction

The blunt instrument against bracketing is friction: charging for returns, banning multi-size orders, shortening windows. It works on abusers and it works on your best customers too, which is why conversion teams hate it.

The smarter path has two lanes. On the product side, better size guidance, fit finders, and honest model photography cut the uncertainty that causes innocent bracketing.

On the behavior side, per customer scoring finds the habitual bracketeers and applies policy there: a warning that their pattern is visible, then paid return shipping, then denial for the truly abusive.

Brands that run both lanes typically see bracketing drop without touching the experience of honest shoppers. The goal was never to make returns harder. It is to make abuse expensive.