Compass Money: Amaz(on)ing Clothes – Amazon’s New Luxury Stores
To aid the digital transformation of luxury brands, Amazon has recently created a new mobile shopping app: Luxury Stores. (Flickr)
Breaking away from its usual cycle of fast fashion, Amazon has trekked into high-end fashion through its new mobile app, Luxury Stores. Introduced in mid-September, Luxury Stores initially began its partnership with Oscar de la Renta. Since then, it has featured Joseph Altuzarra handbags, Roland Mouret dresses, and Clé de Peau Beauté skincare products, with its most recent addition being Prada’s Car Shoe on October 22.
I Kid Shoe Not…
Even before the pandemic began, luxury brands had been struggling to keep ahead of the curve as an increasing number of customers turn to online, rather than in-person, shopping. Due to the personalized nature of the brand and the in-person white glove services they offer, luxury brands have typically been slower in the digital transformation process compared to less high-end goods.
With the pandemic forcing these designer brands to digitize or die, many have evacuated to e-commerce sites such as Net-A-Porter and Farfetch, names that are not commonplace for less affluent consumers. However, with drastic declines in tourism spending and consumer confidence, luxury brands are expected to face a decline in sales of up to 29.2 percent of its $350 billion market, and the fashion industry as a whole may lose up to $600 billion in 2020.
Bringing Luxury Back to Life
To combat this, the popular e-commerce site Amazon has decided to bring various luxury brands under its wings. With the concept of a “store within a store,” Luxury Stores is a mobile app that is both interactive and easy-to-navigate.
In a press statement, Amazon said, “This interactive feature will begin rolling out with select garments at launch, allowing customers to explore styles in 360-degree detail to better visualize fit, and making shopping for luxury easier and more engaging.”
The app provides consumers a direct-to-consumer experience by having same-day service and warehouses across the United States, and it allows designers to have full control over inventory, selection, and pricing. Unlike the Amazon website with which most lay consumers are familiar, there are no product reviews or links to third-party sellers on this app. With Amazon’s massive consumer base of over 150 million global subscribers, Luxury Stores is expected to have an increase in the number of its shoppers.
However, despite the increased availability of luxury products, there are attempts to tighten its exclusivity. After all, what is a luxury good if everybody could buy it? For starters, it is invitation-only for (presumably affluent) Amazon Prime members in the U.S. Those who have not been invited can request to be on the waitlist.
A Prime Time to Redesign
Whether or not Amazon’s partnership with luxury brands will last is up to time to tell, but in the meantime, many are hopeful that more brands will be attracted to the way that Amazon has been handling its luxury-shopping venue.
According to the CEO of Roland Mouret, “Amazon offers a unique partnership and business model, backed up by cutting-edge technology and breathtaking logistics. They are uniquely placed to connect the dots between e-commerce and entertainment in the luxury sector.”