Amazon opens first offline clothing store

The company announced on January 20 that its first Amazon Style store, located in a suburb of Los Angeles, California, will open later this year.

The store will sell men’s and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories from established and emerging brands. “You’ll find everything from $10 basics to designer jeans to $400 classics,” said Simoina Vasen, managing director of Amazon Style . “We want to cater to consumers of all budgets and price points . ”

The upcoming store opening marks Amazon’s latest foray into physical retail, a sector the company has quietly dabbled in since 2015 and entered with its $13.7 billion acquisition of upscale grocer Whole Foods in 2017. Since then, Amazon has rolled out a number of other formats, including convenience stores and supermarket chains.

It is understood that Amazon has been increasing its share of clothing sales for many years. Although Amazon does not disclose its own clothing sales in its financial reports, in March 2021 , Wells Fargo said that Amazon surpassed Walmart to become the largest clothing retailer in the United States, and estimated that Amazon's clothing and footwear sales in the United States increased by about 15% in 2020 to more than $41 billion.

By opening offline physical stores, Amazon can attract consumers who would not otherwise choose to buy clothing on the Amazon platform .

Like Amazon's other physical retail concepts, the Amazon Style stores attempt to merge the company's online and offline shopping experiences. Amazon said it hopes to solve some of the pain points that exist in traditional retail stores, such as fitting rooms, while reducing the space it takes up .

When shoppers walk into a store, they see a “showcase” that features only one size and color of a particular product. After logging into the Amazon app on their smartphone , they can scan a QR code on the item to see other sizes, colors, product ratings and other information, such as personalized recommendations for similar items.

“This allows us to offer more options without requiring customers to sift through the racks to find the right color, size and fit , ” Vasen said.

After scanning a QR code on an item, shoppers can tap a button in the app to add the item to a fitting room or send it to a pickup counter. In fitting rooms, Amazon has added touch-screen displays that shoppers can use to rate items or request that a different style or size be sent to the fitting room.

Consumers can place their chosen clothes in a "secure closet" in the fitting room , which is unlocked after the store employee delivers the clothes. The company said this allows customers to continue shopping without having to leave the fitting room and look for an employee.

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