Amazon to open fashion store where algorithms suggest what to try on
Amazon will open a tech-driven clothing store in Southern California later this year, a first for the online giant.
The ecommerce retailer is making another push to grow its fashion business, announcing on Thursday it will open its first-ever apparel store this year, with a tech twist. “We wouldn’t do anything in physical retail unless we felt we could significantly improve the customer experience,” said Simoina Vasen, a managing director.
Amazon department store of the future includes algorithmic recommendations and what one corporate director called “a magic closet” in the fitting room.
At 30,000 square feet (2,787 sq meters), the planned “Amazon Style” shop near Los Angeles is smaller than the typical department store. Model items are on the racks, and customers scan a code using Amazon’s mobile app to select the colour and size they would like. To try on the clothes, shoppers enter a virtual queue for a fitting room that they unlock with their smartphone when it is ready.
Inside, the dressing room is “a personal space for you to continue shopping without ever having to leave,” Vasen said. Each has a touchscreen letting shoppers request more items that staff deliver to a secure, two-sided closet “within minutes,” she said.
“It’s like a magic closet with seemingly endless selection,” Vasen said.
The touchscreens will suggest items to shoppers too. Amazon keeps a record of every good a customer scans so its algorithms personalize clothing recommendations.
The company’s new store aims to attract a broad range of shoppers with hundreds of brands. The firm did not mention names.
