Amazon launches luxury stores to differentiate Hoi Poloi from haute couture

Could shopping on your phone be a luxury experience? That sounds unlikely, but it’s not stopping Amazon’s last attempt to get high-end brands on its platform. Today, the company is unveiling its name Luxury stores – A new way for brands to present their wares to discerning customers on Amazon’s mobile app, with the first official facial partner being the high-end ready-to-wear brand Oscar La La Renta.

Luxury stores will allow brands to create what Amazon is Calling gender A “store within store” experience. That means giving companies more control over inventory, selection and prices, while taking advantage of Amazon’s enormous reach to find customers. Retail will also supply retail retail giant Bransy with the digital equivalent of Fancy Shop Windows, giving them the option to display their clothing in an interactive 360-degree view.

“This interactive feature will begin rolling out with the wearer of choice at launch, allowing customers to explore 360-degree detail styles to better visualize the fit, and make shopping for luxury easier and more attractive,” Amazon said in a press statement. .

The feature is only starting with sc scar de la renta, but other brands will join in the coming months. Indeed, browsing new luxury stores just won’t be an option for anyone. Corresponding to Luxury Eths, Amazon is introducing some artificial shortages. Only selected Amazon Prime members in the US will be invited to browse Digital Rex, Amazon probably. Will target affluent customers. (You can also request an invitation.)

More broadly, the launch of luxury stores is a recent attempt by Amazon to enter the highest fashion. Although the company certainly sells large quantities of clothing (it is the largest apparel retailer in the U.S.), these items are largely considered “fast fashion.” The retailer has never managed to attract or retain designer and luxury brands who have experienced and criticized the site’s shopping experience. Common brand coverage. Nike, for example, All direct sales closed By Amazon in 2019, claiming that it wants “more direct, personal relationships” with customers than Amazon supplies.

Luxury stores give brands more control over the appearance of small corners of their Amazon platform, which seems like an attempt to address the complaint. Think of it as the digital equivalent of a red velvet rope, a luxury store that separates Poloin from Haute Kochhar.

Is it ready to create trade-off brands? Some, of course, will interest Amazon’s 100 million prime customers in court, especially at a time when the epidemic has hit many luxury shops hard. Said Alex Bolen, CEO of Oscar de la Renta Vogue It made sense to get customers where they were.

“For me, in addition to getting new customers, getting more thinking with existing customers – that’s the name of the game. “We want to be able to talk to her wherever she is comfortable shopping,” Bolen said, adding: “The idea is that you don’t want to talk to a customer where she will spend a lot of time.”