Remember that clothing store we told you Amazon was opening in California, where shoppers use an app and fitting-room touchscreens to help them shop? It’s now open, the company announced this morning.
“Today, Amazon announced the first Amazon Style store is now open at The Americana at Brand in Glendale, CA. Amazon’s first-ever physical clothing store is designed to help customers discover looks they’ll love through a personalized and convenient shopping experience using advanced technology and operations.”
When Amazon announced the new concept in January, it said in-store prices would be the same as on Amazon.com and said it wanted to combine the best of shopping on Amazon.com with the benefit of touching and trying on items to ensure a great fit.
It also described the technology it planned to use in the store:
“Our physical retail team built several new technologies that work together to make it effortless for customers to discover items they’ll look and feel great in. This includes Amazon Style’s mobile shopping experience within the Amazon Shopping app and fitting room touchscreens, enabling customers to learn more about items they scan and to discover new brands as they shop.
“With Amazon Style’s advanced machine learning algorithms, we provide customers with personalized recommendations that match budget, fit, and style.
“Amazon Style uses the same technologies and processes as Amazon’s fulfillment centers to store more items that can be delivered from back-of-house to a customer within minutes.
“Other innovations that enable the experience include new complex inventory management systems, new technology to support customer service, and Amazon One, which is our palm recognition service, for fast and convenient checkout.”
What’s been missing from the company’s introduction of the new store is any mention of its third-party sellers. Presumably Amazon does not stock inventory in the store from sellers who use its FBA fulfillment service.
In an email sent to media outlets today, Amazon made a point of highlighting the fact the store would be serviced by humans as well. “Get to know more about some of our current incredible team members, including the Amazon Style looks they can’t get enough of,” the email read, followed by an introduction to five employees, including store manager.
It’s interesting to see what the responsibilities of some of the employees entail, such as the following:
- Back-of-house zone lead: “overseeing the delivery process for customers at Amazon Style—when a customer chooses a clothing item on the Amazon Shopping app, his team picks the products and securely delivers them to the customer’s fitting room closet, creating a seamless experience where customers no longer need to carry items around the store while shopping.”
- Front-of-house zone lead: “responsible for greeting customers, introducing them to the store and the selection, keeping the store looking neat and organized, helping customers check out, and more.”
- Back-of-house employee: “delivers the merchandise customers order on the app to their fitting rooms so they can try on clothes in a seamless experience.”
Here’s the video Amazon released in January introducing the Amazon Style store.
The Amazon Style store is now open at the Americana at Brand shopping, dining, entertainment, and residential complex in Glendale, California.
Will this store be selling those Balencigar things that all the hip people wear?