Would you buy a US$13,000 designer gown from Amazon?
Considering the impact of the global pandemic on our power to leave the house, information technology is somewhat unsurprising that a large chunk of the retail industry experienced an unprecedented collapse earlier this year. Despite that, however, not all retail businesses suffered – sales at online grocery stores such as Redmart soared, and global east-commerce giant Amazon posted its biggest profit ever. It was in this buoyant climate that it launched its latest risky retail gambit – Amazon Luxury Stores.
READ> Amazon and Alibaba are fighting it out on the luxury due east-commerce forepart. Who wins?
Luxury Stores is Amazon's foray into selling luxury style and beauty and exists as a separate section from its existing Amazon Style offering. Launched in mid-September 2020, the US-exclusive service is made available merely by invitation, and merely to members of its paid Amazon Prime subscription program.
"We are always listening to and learning from our customers, and we are inspired by feedback from Prime members who desire the power to shop their favourite luxury brands in Amazon's store," said Christine Beauchamp, the president of Amazon Style.
It is not clear if Amazon sent out special invitations to certain VIP Prime members at launch, but existing Prime users can register for the waitlist to receive an invitation at amazon.com/LuxuryStores. While there is no guarantee how long it takes to receive an invitation, a recent trial of the service saw admission granted within iii weeks.
Because the service is still nascent, shopping Luxury Stores is currently only available via the existing Amazon mobile app, which significantly diminished the initial luxury feel of the experience. Admission to the service is buried in the card bar, sandwiched betwixt Luggage & Travel Gear and Magazine Subscriptions and earlier getting there, you are confronted by the regular Amazon landing page, which – depending on your Amazon purchase history – could include everything from standing lamps to winter socks.
Once you exercise arrive at the Luxury Stores landing page, however, the feel markedly changes. The interface and visuals – which included photos of models in polished editorials – differed significantly from Amazon's usual product-focused layout and delivered a much sleeker browsing feel.
In fact, information technology bore a remarkable resemblance to many of the existing luxury east-tailers on the market place such as Internet-A-Porter and Farfetch. Where Amazon differed, even so, was in its landing pages for each individual brand, which included multi-media videos and personalised copy. This tactic is in line with Amazon'south intention of creating a "shop within a store" for each make on its platform, which it explicitly stated in its press statement at launch.
Speaking of brands, when Luxury Stores launched in September, there was but ane brand available – luxury American fashion label Oscar de la Renta. At the time of writing in mid-December, in that location are now 9, plus one multi-label partner retailer.
The brands include premium beauty label Cle de Peau Beaute and luxury lingerie marque La Perla, besides equally American fashion and accessory brands Altuzarra and Mark Cross.
While Amazon has non yet managed to onboard the nigh diverse range of luxury labels, it cannot be denied that the ones they have brought onboard have a definite cachet.
The product mix was besides definitely indicative of Luxury Stores' position inside the retail category. The most expensive detail available on the platform was a feather embroidered hooded glaze from Oscar de la Renta, which retails for a cool US$12,990 (S$17,238), while the well-nigh inexpensive manner item is a Usa$72 (S$96) lace thong from La Perla. The most inexpensive detail overall, however, was a U.s.$ten (S$thirteen) pressed powder puff from Cle de Peau Beaute.
On a personal note as a luxury shopper, I found the overall experience of navigating Amazon Luxury Stores to be a mixed bag. I was pleasantly surprised to receive my invitation in fairly good time and was eager to explore the Amazon Luxury feel. Given the limited production pick, however, I was hard pressed to add anything to my cart. And therein lies the rub.
In its current course, it is unlikely that Amazon's Luxury Stores would appeal to existing luxury consumers who are used to shopping on the likes of Cyberspace-A-Porter, Farfetch, MatchesFashion, or even 24Sevres and SaksFifthAvenue.
The main reason is that there only is no reason to switch – Amazon's usual tack of offer lower prices for items on its platforms is unlikely to work for the luxury products that information technology is offering, there are no brands that are not bachelor elsewhere, and in that location are no existing features that offering a significantly differentiated feel for the shopper.
For instance, while Amazon is known for its speedy aircraft, its competitors also offering similarly fast or fifty-fifty faster aircraft times, with Net-A-Porter and Farfetch both offering same-day delivery options.
In its initial press argument, Amazon did mention that the Luxury Stores would be able to make use of its technologies like View in 360, which allows customers to view products from all angles. However, there is currently no product on the platform taking advantage of this feature. Should it exist introduced, however, information technology might aid to move the needle in driving customers to the platform.
The other possibility is that Amazon can take advantage of the vast pool of consumers that are already loyal users, since some of them must surely be luxury shoppers. The difficulty lies in that consumers' perception of Amazon, at to the lowest degree within the Us, is that information technology is a platform that retails cheap everyday items like hand sanitiser and toilet paper, not luxury ostrich-feather coats. While that perception is not as prevalent in Singapore, information technology would likely still be a source of noise for Singaporean shoppers should Luxury Stores launch here.
That perception is and will also be the chief stumbling block for Amazon when trying to convince luxury brands to come on lath. Luxury brands are notoriously sensitive near the adjacent placement of their brands, whether it is in the physical or digital space, and convincing Cartier – whose parent company Richemont also owns Net-A-Porter – that its Love bracelets belong on the same platform as Kleenex will be a tough sell.
That is not to say that it is impossible, but Amazon first needs a large critical mass of luxury brands willing to onboard alongside it far beyond the 10 partners currently on the platform. But if any company tin can overcome this chicken-and-egg issue, information technology is probably Amazon.
Given Amazon'south relentless quest for growth into different product segments – as evidenced by its conquering of Whole Foods in 2022 – it seems probable that its new luxury venture is part of Amazon's bid to truly become "the everything store", the go-to player for any production at any time, anywhere. The question is – tin they make Luxury Stores work? Only time will tell.
READ> Why due east-commerce will never completely replace brick-and-mortar shopping
erlandsonnaal1948.blogspot.com
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/obsessions/amazon-luxury-stores-258586
0 Response to "Would you buy a US$13,000 designer gown from Amazon?"
Post a Comment