Second Amazon Style apparel store officially opens

Amazon is expanding its dive into fashion retail in the physical space.

The company has opened its second Amazon Style store, a format that is designed to combine the personalization of e-commerce with the immediacy of brick-and-mortar shopping. Located at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, the store was initially announced in June 2022. Amazon debuted the concept in May 2022 at The Americana at Brand, an upscale lifestyle center in Glendale, Calif.

The shopping experience
Using the Amazon Shopping app, Amazon Style customers scan an item’s QR code to send it to a fitting room, or send it directly to the store’s pickup counter to purchase. The fitting rooms at the store have been reimagined as a personalized space where customers can continue to shop without having to leave.

When a customer enters their fitting room, they will find the items they requested while browsing the store, plus additional selections Amazon thinks they might like. Customers can also rate items to get new selections in real time and request more styles and sizes that are delivered in minutes. 

Store employees are available throughout the space to provide customer service, deliver items to fitting room closets, merchandise the store, help customers at checkout, and manage back-of-house operations.

Amazon Style also features automated technologies and processes used in Amazon fulfillment centers for fast delivery of requested items to fitting rooms. Items scanned at Amazon Style are saved in a customer’s Amazon Shopping app, enabling them to purchase at a later time or find more items online from new brands discovered in the store. The stores also feature new complex inventory management systems and new technology to support customer service.

Customers can shop millions of apparel items on Amazon.com, request delivery to Amazon Style, and then try on items in the fitting room when they get to the store. Items purchased online can also be returned in the store. 

Pricing and assortment
In-store prices are the same as those offered on Amazon.com. Customers can view deals in store that match their preferences in the Amazon Shopping app. 

Amazon Style offers apparel from brands that range from Calvin Klein, Lacoste, and Levi’s to Blank NYC, Dolce Vita, Vince, Equipment, Theory, Joie and Velvet by Graham & Spencer.

In addition, the store also offers Amazon private brands including Amazon Essentials The Drop, and Amazon Aware. Customers can also shop shoes and accessories, as well as select products across categories including skincare, hair care, bath and body, and cosmetics.

What it means
Amazon Style joins Amazon’s other existing brick-and-mortar banners - Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market stores. By combining app-based shopping with automated micro-fulfillment technology and endless aisle inventory, the retailer is attempting to duplicate the online shopping experience in a physical store. Amazon Style stores could also easily serve as pickup and return points for online purchases, as well as provide ship-from-store capability for fashion purchases.

[Read More: Amazon Go launching new store format for the suburbs]