Watch Out, Subscription Boxes: Amazon Prime Wardrobe Is Here
There's shopping for clothes, and then there's serious wardrobe overhauls that leave you exhausted after running around the local mall and filling your car with stuff you just might return the next day.
Amazon hopes to make the latter situation easier with its new Prime Wardrobe service, rolling out to some Amazon Prime members this week.
Prime Wardrobe mimics the offerings of several "try before you buy" startups like Stitch Fix: you pick three or more items from Amazon's collection of shoes, accessories, and clothing; you try them on; and then you choose the ones you want to keep and send the rest back for free.
In typical Amazon fashion, the company will offer increasing discounts based on how much of your order you decide to keep, from 10 percent off three to four items to 20 percent off five or more. Keeping more items helps Amazon cut down on return shipping costs, a behavior it also encourages with "no-rush" shipping discounts on regular Prime orders.
Amazon says that more than one million items are available through Prime Wardrobe. Brands include Calvin Klein, Levis, Adidas, Timex, Carter's, Hugo Boss, and Lacoste. It's unclear how the list prices of individual items compare to Amazon's competitors, since the beta program is currently only open to Prime members who are invited. Assuming you are invited, though, Prime Wardrobe has no additional costs on top of the regular Prime membership fee.
The news comes after Amazon in April unveiled the Amazon Look, a hands-free camera and style assistant. You connect the $200 gadget to a small tripod on your dresser or nightstand (or mount it to the wall) so that its depth-sensing camera and built-in LEDs have a clear view of your entire body. Then, thanks to an integrated Alexa, you can ask it to take a photo or a short video of your outfit.
Prime Wardrobe is the latest step in Amazon's grand retail ambitions, which seem to be entering an even more frenetic stage as of late. Last week, the company announced an acquisition of high-end grocery store chain Whole Foods, a move that will give it access to an already-existing network of physical stores in which to sell its goods.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
