Amazon to open a clothing store with high-tech fitting rooms

Amazon decided to open a real-world clothing store later this year.

It announced on Thursday that the first Amazon clothing store would open its doors later this year. The store’s location is in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, California.

The store will offer women’s and men’s clothes, footwear, and accessories. These clothes will be from a mix of well-known and new brands, with prices suiting to a broad range of customers.

Managing director of Amazon Style, Simoina Vasen, talked to CNBC. She said shoppers would find everything from the $10 to the $400 timeless piece. She explained that the company aims to meet every budget and price range. The retail space is around 30,000 square feet, smaller than the average department store.

The new store’s concept comes from Amazon’s experiment in physical retail. The company began this journey when it opened a bookstore in 2015. Later the company expanded its business by developing various other sites. Amazon has launched grab-and-go convenience outlets, stores, and supermarket chains.

The company has spent several years expanding its share of apparel sales. In March 2021, Wells Fargo said that the company surpassed Walmart and became the No. 1 apparel retailer in the U.S.

He also said that Amazon’s clothing and footwear sales grew by approximately 16% in 2020 to more than $42 billion in the U.S.

A high-tech shopping experience in Amazon

Amazon plans to fix some of the discomfort found in traditional retail stores. The company highlighted issues in the fitting room.

Customers will rely on their smartphones to browse the store.

When clients walk into the store, they will see only one size and color of a particular product displayed. The rest will remain in the back of the store. After logging into the Amazon app using a smartphone, people will scan a QR code on the item to see other sizes, colors, and even product ratings. Vasen said it allows the company to offer more selection without extra effort to find the right color, size, and fit.