Amazon Prime Wardrobe — Try before you buy fashion

@chadwhitaker “People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou It's actually a proven mathematical and psychological principle in design sadly most designers are not mathematicians or do not have a psychological background, you don't even need a degree for either you simply need an interest and intense curiosity of designing for humans. You can't design the way you've described without knowledge and understanding and Amazon has always been a wacky co that actually celebrates what they do not fully understand...most co want you to think they know everything and anything when they are bat shit clueless about basic things. So many people imitating each other in tech if there is an attribute here to imitate it's exactly what amazon celebrates and stands for: learning before teaching.

@chadwhitaker I wouldn't mind this at all if they would take accessibility into account, and use screen reader only text or alt tags beyond 'Why You'll Love It' and 'Benefits'.

@chadwhitaker Right... and what about Mobile users & SEO? It's very interesting that they do that but I honestly don't know why.

I think it's only a matter of time before Amazon figures it out. I think there will still be a place for clothing retailers outside of Amazon, but the number of successful fashion retailers not on Amazon will shrink.

@rrhoover Question here, how does the 'taking photos while you dress" part work into it? I'm not seeing the photo part or why it would be important? Am I missing something? With that said, it is a good way to get people to upgrade to Prime which will probably takeoff more now with the "Prime Pantry" option since Amazon bought Whole Foods. This is why I think they are pushing it. Also, it may be that they want to stress the best thing about Amazon which is it's awesome return policy. Giving me a free box for returns is right up my alley, and with kids this is a great option. Not having to take kids to a store and dressing room, my talking as a mom here.

@rrhoover This is pretty similar to what the original iteration of Try.com did - I'm curious to see what Amazon can do with their immense logistics experience 🤔

@rrhoover Most interesting aspect is the discount that grows with more items not returned. I don't recall any others doing that. Combined with free shipping. So they're effectively providing a double discount. Amazon isn't pitching taste or curation, they're pitching value. The message here is stock your wardrobe for less, not upgrade your wardrobe. This has much bigger appeal to a wider population than the niche-y startup attempts. This is aimed squarely at Walmart. Why go to Walmart when Amazon can make a Walmart-sized clothing inventory come to you?

@kevinbryantlou @rrhoover I'm interested in this, and think it's a great idea. I worked for a big online fashion retailer in the UK, and there were some really interesting lessons hidden in the data. People in urban and affluent areas (where logistics is pretty well developed) make small and very frequent orders: few items, not of big value, but add up over time if nurtured properly. They know they can get items fast (in the UK same day, depending on postcode), and return them just as quick and easy. However, the return rate is very high here. It will vary, but figures my client had were around 60% with even higher for competitors. For most retailers there's a significant cost to take the items back in, re-package, re-list, etc. so it can be a loss maker. People in rural areas (i.e. far away from physical shops) tend to make bigger online orders in terms of number of items and total value, but return a far smaller amount. There's some basic psychology at play: you're more invested in what you buy if it takes longer for it to reach you, the barriers to returning are higher, etc. A lot of companies that aren't Amazon need to work really hard to crack this logistics side on their own or partner with others to offer a competitive service, so it's a huge plus for them. On a personal level I'd really love to try it, but they haven't quite nailed the recommendations side of things. I imagine a perfect world in which Amazon has something like Stitch + Fix or Boon & Gable or Le Tote built in, with stylists ready to help you. Amazon don't have them yet, and I don't doubt their ability to get them after some initial feedback.

@dimfiniti I hope my ex-husband grasps on to this. :-) His never leaving the house again sounds perfect to me.

@unclejessy4real Interestingly, Amazon rarely puts their fashion on sale, nor their shoes which is why so many missed @zappos when Amazon bought them up. I think they are trying to make it so convenient that we will pay regular prices for it, which who knows I might if the convenience is there as a working person with a family.

@eeus @zappos I do miss some good Zappos deals. As someone who works in the fashion tech industry... seeing / guessing what Amazon might do to disrupt the marketplace is always interesting to see. The convenience is a huge factor... especially the no need to go to a post office for me personally.