E-commerce company Amazon is preparing to open its first brick-and-mortar fashion store offline.
Amazon's fashion store, or Amazon Style, is located in Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles, California, and is expected to open later in 2022.
The store, which has an area of approximately 30,000 square feet, will sell men's and women's shoes and accessories from a variety of brands at a more consumer-friendly price.
"People can find a $10 basic from here, and they can find a $400 classic," says Simoina Vasen, managing director of Amazon Style. ”
Wasson also said that with Amazon's vast network of fulfillment centers and feedback from many customers, Amazon Style's product styles will be updated frequently so that customers can find new products that they are satisfied with each visit.
Figure | Amazon Style (Source: Amazon)
Amazon's share of clothing sales has been increasing over the years. In March 2021, Wells Fargo said, "Amazon has overtaken Walmart to become the number one apparel retailer in the United States." It also mentioned that in the US footwear category, Amazon's turnover in 2020 is more than $41 billion, up nearly 15%.
Amazon's initial success in selling clothing relied heavily on trendy brand basics and private label clothing collections.
By launching physical clothing stores, Amazon may attract more consumers, including those who did not originally use it as a place to buy clothing.
Amazon also wants Amazon Style to address the inconvenience and poor experience of traditional fashion stores through innovations, such as making fitting rooms smarter and making the generally cluttered sales floors look cleaner.
Figure | Amazon Style internal (Source: Amazon)
Let's take a look at how you consume it in Amazon Style.
It is understood that customers will rely on smartphones to a considerable extent when shopping in the store.
First, each product in Amazon Style displays only one size and color. "This allows us to offer twice as many styles as a traditional store. And customers don't have to constantly sift through hangers to find the right style. Wasson said.
When customers want to try on other sizes of clothing, they can log in to the Amazon app, scan the QR code on the product, and click the button in the program to add the product to the fitting room or the pickup counter. After receiving the notification, the store staff will make corresponding preparations according to the needs of the customer.
In addition, the app lists information such as product ratings, remaining inventory, and personalized recommendations for similar products. Customers can also upload and share their preferences and favorite styles to get more personalized recommendations. Amazon will use machine learning algorithms to provide tailored, real-time recommendations for each customer.
"Personal unique styling is generally relatively expensive, but with Amazon Style's advanced technology, unique store design, and thoughtful curation, it's very easy for customers to discover items that make them look different." Wasson said.
At the same time, Amazon Style also integrates the online and offline shopping experience of customers. Items scanned in Amazon Style are saved in Amazon's apps so that customers can revisit and purchase them later. Customers can also purchase clothing on amazon's website and request delivery to Amazon Style. If you feel that your item does not meet your needs, you can also return it in-store.
Amazon Style has also refactored the fitting room to transform it into a personalized space. When customers enter the fitting room, they will find the items they have requested while browsing the store. Amazon also comes with a touchscreen display that allows customers to directly rate items or initiate requests for items of a different size, and to continue shopping without having to leave. The clerk will deliver the items to the fitting room within a few minutes.
Figure | Fitting room touch screen (Source: Amazon)
Advanced technologies and processes employed in Amazon fulfillment centers make this rapid delivery possible.
At the same time, for Amazon Style, employees are indispensable, and they need to provide different types of services to customers, including shipping items to the fitting room, helping customers check out, managing back-office operations, and so on.
Finally, customers can also pay using Amazon's palmprint recognition technology, Amazon One. It's worth noting, however, that Amazon Style doesn't offer any special offers for Amazon Prime members.
There are also arguments that Amazon Style is similar to a company founded in Seattle in 2012 by a former Amazon executive. They all aim to simplify the modern clothing shopping experience.
The opening of Amazon Style represents a further attempt by Amazon in physical retail. In 2015, Amazon announced its official entry into the physical retail field by opening an offline bookstore; in 2017, it spent $13.7 billion to acquire Whole Foods, a high-end supermarket in the United States. Since then, Amazon has also laid out physical retail in various ways, including Amazon Go unmanned convenience stores and Amazon Fresh grocery stores.
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reference:
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-reimagines-in-store-shopping-with-amazon-style
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/amazon-opening-new-apparel-store-amazon-style-with-fitting-rooms.html