The words Amazon and luxury have never been used in the same sentence. But being 2020, the year of surprises (read: shocks) anything is expected; even the fact that Amazon.com is launching high-end fashion luxury stores. It may have enjoyed the position of being the largest seller of apparel and footwear in the US but it is still largely considered to be a marketplace. You may not have turned to amazon.com to buy Haute-couture but its “Luxury Stores” platform will be a persuasive and new shopping experience available on Amazon’s mobile application. The service will be open by invitation only to eligible Prime members wherein customers can view products in 360-degree detail on different body types and skin tones. Amazon is opening the doors of its luxury stores in partnership with Oscar de la Renta brands pre-fall and fall/winter 2020 collections, which are currently only available at the fashion house’s own boutiques and website. Oscar de la Renta is the first and only brand so far, though the company says more are expected to join in the coming weeks. It is a known fact that Amazon has struggled with getting the high-end luxury brands on-board for years now. The launch of Luxury Stores is Amazon’s latest attempt to break into high-end fashion and it couldn’t happen at a better time as there is less business for high fashion in stores while the Covid-19 pandemic continues to change the way we live and shop. Luxury brands will probably give in to this avenue in order to boost their badly affected businesses.
Amazon is also making all the necessary changes that are expected to entice big brands to happily collaborate with them. They are giving more control over the look of their little corner of Amazon’s platform. Add to this Amazon’s 100 million Prime customers, who as per feedback want the ability to shop their favorite luxury brands in Amazon’s store.
[Via: The Verge]
