I’m one of those people who has to wash everything before I can comfortably wear it. If I spend the afternoon at Macy’s looking at their shirts, pants or jackets, I will have to spend a couple of minutes washing my hands and wrists before I can move on with the day. In short, I’m hyperallergenic to certain fabric when prepared in certain ways.
As somebody said here, maybe the stores spray their rack garments with something to keep wrinkles off. I still haven’t figured out what it is.
When clothing comes to my home that I have ordered online, my routine is to wear plastic gloves while removing the wrapping and all the labels, then dump the new garment directly into the wash, never having to touch it at all.
Washing doesn’t help with India cotton from Wal*Mart. Not for me, anyway.