Amazon Ramps Up Its Effort in Apparel

Executive Summary

• Amazon announced on June 20 that it is launching a new service called Prime Wardrobe, which lets customers try on clothes before they buy them and return them for free if they decide they do not want them.
• Prime Wardrobe, which is still in beta, will be available to Amazon Prime members at no extra charge and will offer customers one week to decide whether they would like to keep what they ordered.
• Through the service, Amazon Prime customers select at least three (and a maximum of 15) Prime Wardrobe–eligible clothing items or accessories, such as shoes or watches, from a range of more than 1 million men’s, women’s and kids’ items available on Amazon Fashion.
• The service may attract Prime shoppers who have been reluctant to take a chance on Amazon’s apparel offering and give Amazon access to more data on consumer buying patterns at the same time.
• The move is Amazon’s latest attempt to boost its apparel business. The company launched the Echo Look “style assistant” in May and began partnering with celebrities such as NBA star Dwyane Wade to build out a one-stop shop on its website.
• Euromonitor International estimates that Amazon’s clothing and footwear sales reached $13 billion in 2016, accounting for 13% of Amazon’s US gross merchandise volume.