Tour the First Amazon Style Clothing Store in LA
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That includes ordering items to fitting rooms.
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The new Amazon Style store is the behemoth retailer’s first foyer into brick-and-mortar clothing stores.
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It looks like a cross between Urban Outfitters and an Apple store.
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When I entered the store, I was greeted by cheerful employees.
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It was like if Trader Joe’s employees were selling you clothes.
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The gist is this: There are no sizes available on the showroom floor.
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If you want to try something on, instead of the usual act of schlepping through sizes to find yours, you just scan the QR code attached to the clothing item.
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When you scan the code, an Amazon link pops up on your phone and takes you to the online store.
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You simply add your size to a dressing room, then the app alerts you when the room is ready for you.
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I went to the store with my 18-year-old sister (it’s probably not a coincidence that this is the first story she’s joined me on).
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A few times, she turned to me and said: “I feel like we’re in the future.”
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We were both expecting the store to be full of fast-casual Amazon-brand clothing, but that wasn’t our experience at all.
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There were bright, cheerful displays advertising different clothing vibes.
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“CASUAL DRESSES,” read one sign.
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“Hi, that’s for me,” my Gen Z sister said. She promptly walked away from me and toward it.
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As we wove our way through the women’s section, I was surprised at just how many different styles of clothes were available.
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There were dresses, jackets, jeans, and shirts.
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In the middle of the women’s section was a large display advertising “influencer looks.”
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The displays had specific QR codes that would take you to that influencer’s favorite Amazon-supplied clothing.
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I didn’t know who the influencers were. Neither did my sister, but their choices were cute.
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The whole experience was wildly sleek. I decided to try something on to get the full vibe.
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I scanned the QR code attached to the jean jacket I wanted to try on and chose my size.
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The Amazon app asked me if I needed an accessible fitting room and what gender clothing I most wore.
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Then, it informed me that there would be more items waiting in the fitting room that they thought I would like.
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(Who is “they”? The algorithm is powerful.)
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I locked my phone and kept browsing, but I wasn’t totally sure how I’d know when the fitting room was ready.
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Did I need to go up to talk to an attendant? That felt unlikely.
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Did I need to keep checking the app? I wasn’t sure.
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I checked every few minutes, until 10 minutes later, it said my fitting room was ready.
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I beckoned my sister, and we went upstairs to the second set of fitting rooms.
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It was decorated almost like an Anthropologie store, with different-sized mirrors, magazines, and botanic wallpaper.
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I walked to the room assigned to me and pressed “unlock your room.”
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That’s the only moment when the whole sleek experience got a little clumsy.
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There isn’t very good cellular service in the Glendale Galleria, and my phone was struggling to connect enough to unlock the door.
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After waiting a minute or two, my sister suggested I look for an Amazon WiFi connection, which I did.
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It required joining an “unprotected” WiFi network, but it solved the problem quickly. The door was soon unlocked.
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The fitting room was spacious and had a screen welcoming me in. “GET STARTED!” urged the touchscreen.
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On the left side of the room was a rack with the jacket I’d chosen (and three others the algorithm thought I might like).
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Through the touchscreen, I chose another sweatshirt and requested it to be delivered to my fitting room.
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Then things got really futuristic — or maybe my sister and I were just easily impressed.
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On the far side of the fitting room was a closet.
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When you order something else to try on while you’re already in the fitting room, an employee delivers the article of clothing through the other door of the closet.
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