Last week, Amazon unveiled plans to build a physical fashion store concept, dubbed Amazon Style, in Los Angeles. The e-commerce giant says the store will offer “together the best of shopping on Amazon–great prices, selection, and convenience–with an all new shopping experience built to inspire.”
Amazon has proven to be a giant in online apparel shopping, growing year after year. Last March, Wells Fargo reported that the company surpassed Walmart as the No. 1 apparel retailer in the United States. Now, the company is looking to transfer that online success into physical success with Amazon Style.
The 30,000–sf store will be about the size of a typical TJ Maxx, but smaller than your average department store. The first location is set to open in a Los Angeles suburb later this year. Amazon has given physical retail a shot in the past in the form of groceries and books, but it has never sold clothing or shoes in stores, until now.
Amazon will stock its own products, well known names such as Adidas and Jockey, as well as up-and-coming brands. The store will cater to every price point. “You’ll find everything from the $10 basic to the designer jeans to the $400 timeless piece,” said Simoina Vasen, managing director of Amazon Style.
Amazon's Tech-Based Shopping Experience
Customers will notice a few different features than your average retail clothing store as soon as they walk in the door. Amazon Style will be the first of its kind, truly relying on technology and their mobile app.
The front of the store will feature “display items” with one size and one color of each product, and customers will be able to scan a QR code and see the sizes, colors, and products available.
Each of the fitting rooms will have touch screens where shoppers can have items sent to them. Lastly, checkout will be facilitated by Amazon One, the company’s palm-scanning technology.
Non-Traditional Retail Convenience
Obviously this way of shopping is non-traditional, but the real question is will it work? After the announcement, there has been some debate on whether or not shoppers prefer this style of shopping or would rather search through clothing racks for a hidden gem.
Many shoppers do enjoy the experience of “treasure hunting”, but the company believes in their mission. Although Amazon Style’s QR code model doesn’t necessarily fall in line with those customers wanting to look through different selections, it does offer one thing that many people look for when it comes to their time and shopping experience, which is convenience.
Convenience seems to be the common theme with Amazon Style’s QR code model, and Vasen believes their “unique store design, advanced technology, and thoughtful curation will make it easier than ever for customers to have an inspiring, convenient, enjoyable, and ultimately successful shopping experience.”
Related Stories
| Oct 27, 2014
Report estimates 1.2 million people experience LEED-certified retail centers daily
The "LEED In Motion: Retail" report includes USGBC’s conceptualization of the future of retail, emphasizing the economic and social benefit of green building for retailers of all sizes and types.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Sep 25, 2014
Bjarke Ingels headed home for latest project: Aarhus Island
Aarhus Island will be a waterside development in Denmark's second-largest city. The mixed-use development will implement Ingels' signature angled look in its residential towers.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
