Amazon Style is already out of fashion.
Less than two years after opening its first tech-infused physical clothing store, Amazon is closing its only two Style stores, the company confirmed Thursday.
“After careful consideration, we’ve decided to close our two Amazon Style physical retail stores and focus on our online fashion shopping experience,” Kristen Kish, an Amazon spokesperson, said in an emailed statement to GeekWire. “Physical retail remains an important part of our business, and we’re continuing to invest in growing our grocery stores business.”
Bloomberg first reported the news.
The two stores, located in Glendale, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio, will close Nov. 9. Amazon said it was working closely with affected employees to help them find new roles within the company.
Amazon’s latest move away from physical retail comes after the March 2022 shutdown of 68 other physical retail locations, including all of its Amazon 4-star, Books, and Pop Up stores.
Amazon Style was intended to bring together “the best of shopping on Amazon — great prices, selection, and convenience — with an all-new in-store shopping experience built to inspire,” according to a January 2022 blog post by Simoina Vasen, managing director of the business unit.
That experience leaned heavily on Amazon’s technology and the desire to know more about each customer. Amazon Style stores featured a less-cluttered array of display items on the floor rather than giving over space to racks or stacks of inventory. Shoppers looking for women’s and men’s apparel, shoes and accessories used the Amazon Shopping mobile app to scan QR codes to see sizes, colors, overall customer ratings, and additional product details.
Shoppers could then tap a button in the app to have an item sent to a fitting room or directly to the pickup counter if they didn’t need to try it on. Once inside that “reimagined fitting room,” another larger screen allowed shoppers to “continue to shop a seemingly endless closet of great styles” without leaving.
Amazon for years has rolled out various new fashion services. GeekWire tried the company’s “Outfit Compare” tool in 2017 and we tested Prime Wardrobe as a new way to shop for and try on clothes in 2018. It also has a sizable private label clothing line.
Amazon is facing new competition in online shopping from TikTok, which is investing in social e-commerce and has poached some Amazon execs.
In third quarter earnings last week, Amazon reported physical stores revenue of $4.9 billion, up 6% from the year-ago quarter.
Amazon said its focus on physical grocery spans Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go, and third-party partnerships. The company said it will continue opening new grocery stores.
