Online shopping goes wrong: Woman suffers burns after wearing ‘bargain’ shorts; fabric melts into her skin

Do you buy budget clothes on social media? This incident may leave you concerned.

Molly-May Watson, 27, suffered second-degree burns after wearing shapewear shorts she bought for £8.57 (around ₹1,000). The product was sold on TikTok Shop.

Watson first wore them at her sister’s baby shower. While attending the event, she suddenly felt a burning pain in her thigh and thought a bee had entered her dress.

She rushed to the bathroom and found the elastane fabric of the shorts had melted into her skin. She was forced to rip them off.

The next day, doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital told her that she could be “scarred for life”. said the injury occurred in her upper glutes and leg.

“I’m unable to walk properly at the moment. I’ve been bandaged up ever since,” Wales Online quoted her as saying.

“They confirmed it’s definitely a burn, and that’s what happened. They said ‘it’s strange, we don’t really know if it’s a heat burn or a chemical reaction’,” she said.

She could not trace the seller on Google. It made her suspicious about the authenticity of the company.

Watson contacted TikTok Shop with photos of her injuries and the damaged shorts. She was offered only a refund and a £10 ( ₹1,200) coupon. She found it insulting.

“I don’t feel comfortable accepting a coupon from you to be honest. I’ll never be shopping from that shop again. It’s insulting,” she told them.

They replied, “Unfortunately, nothing we can do.”

According to the publication, the woman has now vowed never to shop on TikTok again, especially from budget or third-party sellers. Her friends have also admitted to being irritated by similar items.

“You think ‘that’s a nice little bargain’, but it could leave you like me scarred for life. Any sort of budget or third-party sellers I won’t ever order from them again. I’m starting to scar already from some bits of the burn,” Watson added.

Online shopping in India

In India, 75% of consumers prefer online shopping and only visit stores with exceptional experiences, compared to 41% globally, as revealed by the EY Future Consumer Index (FCI) report in August 2024.

Half of Indian shoppers downloaded retail apps in the last six months. Common complaints include damaged goods (21%), poor customer support (20%) and refund issues (19%).

According to the report, 62% of Indian consumers have made purchases based on AI recommendations. Globally, it’s just 30%.

Also, 61% of Indian consumers believe AI recommendations for product purchase is extremely beneficial.