Let’s Talk About Amazon’s Fashion Pop-Up
Last month, Amazon ran a one-of-a-kind fashion pop-up store in London, attempting to bring with it all the conveniences of shopping with Amazon online. Open for only a few days, the pop-up store was a new take on fast fashion retail and has the potential to shake up the industry.
Amazon in the Physical World
This isn’t the first time Amazon have ventured into brick and mortar stores. They’ve previously opened their Amazon Go stores in America, offering a quick service for buying groceries, and they’ve also opened several bookstores. Earlier this year, they opened Amazon 4-Star, a store that professes to house a collection of 4-star or above items, specially curated for the store. It opened to mixed reviews, with some stating that it was a great place to shop, and others highlighting the cluttered and overcrowded nature of the store. And last year, they opened a pop-up in London in time for Black Friday. So they may only be taking small steps into the high street, but it’s still safe to say that Amazon have some experience with this kind of thing. So why a pop-up?
The Pop-Up Format
The Baker Street pop-up only opened its doors for one week and featured different themes every other day so that the items on display would feel fresh and cohesive. There were tablets dotted about the store so that customers could view the entire catalogue if they wished, and every item was available to buy online through the use of VR codes and the Amazon app. And, to top it all off, Amazon decided to include features like a juice bar and a selfie counter with their smile logo to really personalise the store and make it feel like the Amazon brand.
So, the store sounds great, but Amazon isn’t a brand that was previously known for fashion retail. This is their first real foray into fashion in the offline world. With tactics like the pop-up store, Amazon are attempting to firmly put their stamp on the fashion industry too. Over the last couple years, they’ve been quietly developing their own clothing brands which have been available exclusively online. By introducing a pop-up, they’re able to create a buzz around the brand.
Pop-ups have become increasingly popular as companies strive to make their brands interesting and engaging to survive the shift to digital. And they’ve proven to be a tried and true method that, if done well, work well. The fear of missing out, coupled with the exclusivity of pop-ups, makes them a great way to improve a reputation or create awareness. It’s basically a big sign saying, “we’re here!”. And as big as Amazon are, creating a ripple like that can have wide-reaching consequences.
The Competition
So what does it mean for other fast fashion brands? Well, at the moment, nothing. It was just one pop-up store that lasted just one week. Amazon is a powerful brand but they’re not that powerful. But the pop-up is a symptom of a growing trend. The way we shop is changing. It’s no longer enough to simply offer a catalogue online, just as much as it isn’t enough to only provide an offline store. Customers want the best of both, and then a little bit more.
Amazon is known for seizing the changing markets; it’s part of why they’ve become such a huge success. Their fashion pop-up store is another way for them to attempt to blur the line between the offline and the online world. And to add to that, they also extended their try before you buy service to the UK, allowing customers to select clothes from the Amazon online store to try at home before having to pay for them.
As we become more and more digital, customers want physical stores to be an experience more than just a place to shop. They want to buy online whilst in a brick and mortar store. They increasingly want to be greeted by sales associates that already know their customer history, who can make suggestions based on it. They want to try online items before they have to decide on a product. They want experiences with a brand, not just a transactional relationship.
Don’t get me wrong; we’re not quite there yet. Part of it is generational and it will still take a while before the high street is completely reformed. But moves like the Amazon pop-up store are a step in the right direction; that’s why we’re writing an article about Amazon and not those brands that are slow to change. But if those brands don’t start making those changes, they’ll find that companies that are attempting to revolutionise the way they sell to customers and market themselves will begin to take centre stage, and they’ll be left in the dust.
