In many areas, Amazon is king. Selling books, diapers, and other stables? Yep. creating a revolutionary logistics and delivery business? Certainly. Inventing an industry by renting out its massive data warehouses? No doubt.
But the Seattle e-commerce giant is not known as a fashion tastemaker. Amazon wants that to change. On Tuesday, Amazon rolled out Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe, a service that tells you what to wear, for a fee.
Scratching your head? Don’t worry, you won’t be taking fashion cues from the software engineers that line up around food trucks outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. The company has hired some actual fashionistas to help you pick what to wear. And, of course, you’ll be buying everything on Amazon.
For $4.99 per month, customers receive recommendations for clothes and accessories curated by personal shoppers at Amazon. The stylists and technology behind the service winnow thousands of clothing brands on Amazon.com down to a handful of selections each month based on customers’ preferences.
It’s the latest in a series of moves that push Amazon further into the fashion business. The e-commerce giant has been steadily investing in apparel and fashion for the past few years, leveraging its technology horsepower.
In 2017, Amazon launched Prime Wardrobe taking on upstarts like Stitch Fix and Nordstrom’s Trunk Club. The service allows shoppers to select and ship a box of clothes, shoes, and accessories to their homes to try them on before buying.
GeekWire’s Taylor Soper tested out the service — as well as his modeling skills — and ended up with a few keepers.
Personal Shopper is part of the Prime Wardrobe service. Customers who sign up fill out a survey about their style and fit preferences that Amazon stylists use to make their recommendations. Shoppers preview the items and select the ones they want to ship and try on at home.
Amazon is doubling down on its private label apparel brands, which will be included in Personal Shopper recommendations alongside more established lines like Levis, Calvin Klein, and 7 for All Mankind.
Personal Shopper is available now in the Amazon app for women’s fashion. The company plans to expand to men’s soon.
