JackThreads made its name on the strength of deep discounting, almost becoming the Steam sale of online clothing.

While a lot of merchandise was going out the door, it wasn’t returning the kind of revenues that would draw long-term investor commitment.

That’s when CEO Mark Walker turned to a notion that’s recently been seen with the likes of PayPal Canada: free returns, offering what amounts to a free trial of clothing.

The “Tryout,” as it’s known, offers a novel prospect: take the JackThreads clothing line, and offer every part of it—with no minimum order size—available for easy, no-cost return.

Once a buyer receives the item, buyers then have seven days to initiate a return or keep the item forever.

In a bid to cover the costs of such a program, JackThreads is shifting money away from its online advertising efforts, a move that suggests it’s less concerned about drawing in new customers than it is about getting more out of the customers it already has.

Walker noted that it was “…trying to bring the fitting room into the online experience,” and about the only way to do that is with frequent shipments.

While it will be difficult to get customers away from the frequent discounting they were used to, the idea of hassle-free returns should be welcome.

This isn’t a new innovation, but it’s one that hasn’t been seen so often. PayPal Canada was recently spotted doing this, and it was the focus of a UPS commercial series.

Whether it’s an everyday pocket-T or a full-on prom dress, it’s important to get the right fit, the right feel, and the right look.

For online retailers to take over here, they’ve got to all that same try-it-on experience as a brick-and-mortar outlet does or risk losing business to the brick-and-mortars.

Free returns are a great step in that process, though one that could represent big expenses for the mostly low-overhead online retailers.

Online retailers couldn’t have had it all their own way forever, and now, we’re starting to see how changing retail demands are reshaping the field.

In a case where PayPal’s doing it, and other stores are starting to, the market must change to survive or risk losing ground to those who will.