Other than the discount for keeping multiple items, I'm not sure what's so special about this. You can order a box of clothes from most major retailers, with free shipping and free returns, and with usually a 30+ day return policy. Here, you only have 7 days to return.
Seems like this really simplifies the experience, letting you send clothes back in the same box and with a prepaid shipping label.
It feels like it's set up to make returning substantial numbers of pieces of clothing more normal and expected. I'm guessing at other retailers with a free shipping/return policy, they'd frown on very high return rates.
I think there's power in telling people that the expected way of using this service is that they'll return some of the items that they order via the service. A lot of people see a stigma about returning clothes (i.e. "I didn't like it" not being a valid reason) and therefore won't go the route of having to initiate a return for something they've ordered online.
This bypasses a lot of that, in the same way that something like Trunk Club or Warby Parker does.
As someone that buys 80% of my clothes online, this has rarely been the case for me. I'm lucky if I can get free shipping to my home and have only experienced free return shipping, uhhhh, well not sure if I ever have.
Where do you buy your clothes? I use Gilt, Mr. Porter, and brand specific pages. My last online purchase was from sevenforallMankind where I bought a pricey pair of jeans and if I needed to return them it would have been $5 for shipping.
I think what's a game-changer here is if they only charge your credit card after the 7 days. It's not very clear, but they do say that you only pay for what you keep. And this could be huge.
15 items could easily be $1,000, and asking someone to pay a $1,000 just to try, even if they know they can return and get a refund, is a huge barrier. If Amazon would indeed charge you only after the 7-days, they could convert a lot of store buyers their ways.
Indeed this is a very common practice in the high end fashion business where people use personal stylists to help them pick clothes. The stylist grabs a bunch of products for the client, sends them "on memo" or "on consignment" and they pay for only what they don't return. Even when you're dealing with clients for whom floating a few thousand dollars is no big deal, the psychological impact of not actually hitting their card until the return is compelling enough to retailers that they are willing to give up the inventory for that 5 to 10 day period.
huge difference. people will order clothes without paying, get them super fast, and feel free to return before they've even been charged. Amazon really is doing everything they can to remove purchasing barriers.
As a customer, you can order from any Retailer and return within 14 days without giving any reason, as we have a special "Fernabsatzgesetz" (Distance Selling Act).
Nearly every Retailer offers free returns and above 40 Euro purchase value, returns even have to be free of charge.
Many Retailers offer more than 14 days, 30 days is nothing special and some like Zalando (a Zappos clone) even offer 100 days of free returns.
> above 40 Euro purchase value, returns even have to be free of charge
This was removed from the law in June 2014. Retailers can now say that customers need to pay a carrier for the shipment back regardless of value. Some do, most don't. They can however never charge "restocking fees" or whatnot. The same day the EU Consumer Rights Directive was put in force so all EU customers now have this protection.
(The Fernabsatzgesetz was removed in 2002 by the way. This topic is now regulated in the usual BGB.)
Classic Amazon/Google move, take away the easy appeal and marginalize the growing competitor, forcing them to innovate if they're going to find a role.
I don't think this will have much of an impact on Stitch Fix.
Stitch Fix's proposition isn't free returns - plenty of places sell clothes online with free returns - Stitch Fix's appeal is that they will do the work of picking out potential items for you so that you don't have to comb through hundreds of items to find what you want.
It mostly just seems like Amazon is bringing free returns to the low end of the market.
So now knock off clothing will be the new electronics on Amazon. Fake clothing, fake brands.. who really knows.
In our town there is a boutique in a strip mall. They cut off the tags from other store's products and put their on their merchandise. A high schooler kid was heard telling her friends her job is to do this.. Some were clearance from Walmart; others Kohls.
Amazon should really figure out how to not allow knock offs.
In EU you have 14 days to return anything bought online without giving any reason, and seller must refund you as soon as it gets the items back. Some give more weeks, but 14 days is the legal minimum.
So, like every online clothing and shoe retailer has for years,since not long after it was Zappos initial distinguishing feature which everyone copied since it was so obviously highly preferred by consumers.
By now, that's about as notable as delivering goods to your door in cardboard boxes.
I think it's safe to assume that Amazon has a reason to not "leverage" Zappos, e.g. maybe Zappos margins are much lower or there's substantial upside to having people shop on the main Amazon site and throw some electronics in their cart while they're at it.
> "I return half of what I buy," says 30-year-old Alex Demetri, who spends £500 to £700 on clothes each month.
> She also admits to wearing some of her clothes first before returning them.
> It is customers like Ms Demetri who are causing problems for shops, which are "struggling to cope" with the number of items returned, new research suggests.
I don't understand why this is a differentiator in clothes shopping online. The thing is you can return stuff without going to the store. But the most time is spent in browsing through items and trying them out. Returning items at a store does not take time at all. He cannot imagine that alone being a selling point for either Amazon prime or for trunkclub.
Psychologically it strikes me as quite a similar approach to micro-transaction mobile gaming. I mean, the incentive to "save" by purchasing more really bothers me on a fundamental level. As in, my imagination is running wild with what percentage of the eventual Customer Base are, for lack of a better term, suffering from a Compulsion or Addiction to Buying Things? I'm sure an algorithm could spot it, but why bother? They're good for business, right?
Between housewares, groceries, and now clothes, is there any more clear philosophy that Amazon wants us to never leave the house and socialize with one another? I mean, it's not that far from potential reality. Between mobile phone self-isolation and never having to actually go to stores where people work to make a living, this is kind of an unnerving future. Well, for those of us who want to preserve some shreds of humanity under the shadow of the Amazonmandyias Bezos is building.
> Between housewares, groceries, and now clothes, is there any more clear philosophy that Amazon wants us to never leave the house and socialize with one another?
Well, I suppose you might have a point if your only source of interaction with other people is at a mall. However, the less time I spend in a shopping mall or grocery store, the more time I have to get outside, take a bike ride, hike with the family, sit outside at a cafe, garden, etc. If anything, the less time I need to waste at a physical store, the more free time I have to leave the house and socialize with others in a much more authentic setting.
Nothing can divert the "for your convenience" consolidation train unless we accidentally trigger some really unexpected economic / instinctual landmines along the way.
So, it's up to us on an individual level to preserve our own humanity. It plucks some discomfort cords in me to see the same trajectory you do. It hurts even more to see society roll over for it. We're corralled and herded to their nearest wedge issue that resonates so we can focus all our discomfort and unhappiness at marketeer sanctioned foci. A few people say things like "huh automation, where's that going to go when there's no unskilled jobs?"
"Nah that's not a problem, job retraining and economics and stuff but HEY check out this buffet of exaggerated wedge issues. Don't the guys on the other side really piss you off? Haha yeah."
Millions of people divided into black vs. white issues where both sides are mostly reasonable people pissed off at the other side's crazies. Crazy is distributed evenly enough to support this system. The ebb and flow of the number of crazies on either side of the issue is balanced with media magnification and non-reporting.
Keep the fight going, never come to any conclusions at all costs.
The psychographics industry mastered provoking conspicuous consumption in the 80s and 90s. Household debt peaked in the early 2000's partially because of this.
I think that over time, so much has wealth and.. potential has been sucked away that it's somehow more profitable for the industry to move on to influencing and directing outrage. "The attention economy" is the new state of things. Too much production for humans to consume it all. We have articles talking about "peak attention". How dehumanizing is that? Your attention and your thoughts have been commoditized. Companies pump it like oil and sell it back to you. We live on a mountain of abstractions that dehumanize us as individuals and stir us all together into a slurry of hardly dissimilar demographic chunks.
I remember reading about a large company in Russia doing something at least 4 or 5 years ago (I think it was Lamoda?) where they sent along a "fashion assistant" with your selection of clothes.
The fashion assistant drives to your place with all the clothes you want to try, waits for you to try them on, perhaps offers some suggestions, and then leaves with whatever you don't want.
Has this type of idea ever been explored in the US?
As a large guy, this could be potentially a big deal (no pun intended). I hate clothes shopping, and usually wind up having to try on 2 sizes of everything, sometimes the larger size fits, sometimes the smaller... often I need to have a collar lifted regardless.
Frankly, if custom ordering shirts/pants weren't hard to do right and as costly, I'd just do that.
Noticed there's a flag on certain items for Prime Wardrobe. Since there's a 3 item minimum I wonder if this is really just a way to force people to buy more than they normally would.
They do the same thing (kinda) with Prime Exclusives, which are laughably almost always available at Walmart and Target for the same price or cheaper...
The most annoying thing (to me) on Amazon is the fact that some items can only be bought as PrimePantry shipments.
I understand PrimePantry for heavy/bulky items like laundry detergent. I don't get it for lightweight stuff like razor blades. I can't figure out why those items can't be bought as Add-On items to regular shipments.
My girlfriend does this already, but uses the return system from various stores. Buys identical things in different sizes to see what fits best, returns the ones that does not fit.
Makes sense to have the discount if you keep items, savings from processing returns.
As a retailer I hate this style and we make sure we add a hefty restocking fee if an outfit is no longer in a pristine condition. We compete on price, strive to bring best deal US-wide to our customers, but can't really sustain/accept model allowing this. It's also unbelievably damaging to environment and customers like this aren't worth anything to us.
> How does this differentiate from the offerings of other clothiers like TrunkClub (which is a Nordstrom's acquisition)?
...because it's Amazon.
No, seriously. Having a feature working somewhere on the internet, is totally different from having it working on Facebook, Google, or Amazon. Usage goes through the roof, because people already know and trust those behemoths.
I think the 10-20% discounts based on keeping 3-5 items is one point of appeal.
Also the fact that you are the one choosing the items in the box as opposed to having a "stylist" choose them for you could be considered appealing (depending on the person).
[+] [-] berberous|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TulliusCicero|8 years ago|reply
It feels like it's set up to make returning substantial numbers of pieces of clothing more normal and expected. I'm guessing at other retailers with a free shipping/return policy, they'd frown on very high return rates.
[+] [-] Sorry_Rum_Ham|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] manacit|8 years ago|reply
This bypasses a lot of that, in the same way that something like Trunk Club or Warby Parker does.
[+] [-] xxSparkleSxx|8 years ago|reply
Where do you buy your clothes? I use Gilt, Mr. Porter, and brand specific pages. My last online purchase was from sevenforallMankind where I bought a pricey pair of jeans and if I needed to return them it would have been $5 for shipping.
[+] [-] jwallaceparker|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kin|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] logicallee|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] notfried|8 years ago|reply
15 items could easily be $1,000, and asking someone to pay a $1,000 just to try, even if they know they can return and get a refund, is a huge barrier. If Amazon would indeed charge you only after the 7-days, they could convert a lot of store buyers their ways.
[+] [-] colinbartlett|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pthreads|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] colbyh|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cseelus|8 years ago|reply
As a customer, you can order from any Retailer and return within 14 days without giving any reason, as we have a special "Fernabsatzgesetz" (Distance Selling Act).
Nearly every Retailer offers free returns and above 40 Euro purchase value, returns even have to be free of charge.
Many Retailers offer more than 14 days, 30 days is nothing special and some like Zalando (a Zappos clone) even offer 100 days of free returns.
[+] [-] germanier|8 years ago|reply
This was removed from the law in June 2014. Retailers can now say that customers need to pay a carrier for the shipment back regardless of value. Some do, most don't. They can however never charge "restocking fees" or whatnot. The same day the EU Consumer Rights Directive was put in force so all EU customers now have this protection.
(The Fernabsatzgesetz was removed in 2002 by the way. This topic is now regulated in the usual BGB.)
[+] [-] uhnuhnuhn|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wonder_bread|8 years ago|reply
Classic Amazon/Google move, take away the easy appeal and marginalize the growing competitor, forcing them to innovate if they're going to find a role.
[+] [-] Eridrus|8 years ago|reply
Stitch Fix's proposition isn't free returns - plenty of places sell clothes online with free returns - Stitch Fix's appeal is that they will do the work of picking out potential items for you so that you don't have to comb through hundreds of items to find what you want.
It mostly just seems like Amazon is bringing free returns to the low end of the market.
[+] [-] losteverything|8 years ago|reply
In our town there is a boutique in a strip mall. They cut off the tags from other store's products and put their on their merchandise. A high schooler kid was heard telling her friends her job is to do this.. Some were clearance from Walmart; others Kohls.
Amazon should really figure out how to not allow knock offs.
[+] [-] schitzapplebits|8 years ago|reply
It already is, unfortunately, at least that's been my personal experience.
[+] [-] rootsudo|8 years ago|reply
In most of Asia, and maybe around the world. There's no return policy. It sucks.
[+] [-] yulaow|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dragonwriter|8 years ago|reply
By now, that's about as notable as delivering goods to your door in cardboard boxes.
[+] [-] kin|8 years ago|reply
Amazon already had free shipping and returns before for Prime users. This however is a completely different psychology to online shopping.
[+] [-] gnicholas|8 years ago|reply
In the video, they say/show that it includes a printed prepaid label and home-pickup. So you don't even have to go to UPS.
[+] [-] gnicholas|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MikeKusold|8 years ago|reply
It seems odd to compete with Zappos when it already has a loyal user base.
[+] [-] thinkling|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DanBC|8 years ago|reply
It's a bit of a problem because, "this is why we can't have nice things", some people are arseholes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37711091
> "I return half of what I buy," says 30-year-old Alex Demetri, who spends £500 to £700 on clothes each month.
> She also admits to wearing some of her clothes first before returning them.
> It is customers like Ms Demetri who are causing problems for shops, which are "struggling to cope" with the number of items returned, new research suggests.
[+] [-] yalogin|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 6stringmerc|8 years ago|reply
Between housewares, groceries, and now clothes, is there any more clear philosophy that Amazon wants us to never leave the house and socialize with one another? I mean, it's not that far from potential reality. Between mobile phone self-isolation and never having to actually go to stores where people work to make a living, this is kind of an unnerving future. Well, for those of us who want to preserve some shreds of humanity under the shadow of the Amazonmandyias Bezos is building.
[+] [-] mtberatwork|8 years ago|reply
Well, I suppose you might have a point if your only source of interaction with other people is at a mall. However, the less time I spend in a shopping mall or grocery store, the more time I have to get outside, take a bike ride, hike with the family, sit outside at a cafe, garden, etc. If anything, the less time I need to waste at a physical store, the more free time I have to leave the house and socialize with others in a much more authentic setting.
[+] [-] MrLeap|8 years ago|reply
So, it's up to us on an individual level to preserve our own humanity. It plucks some discomfort cords in me to see the same trajectory you do. It hurts even more to see society roll over for it. We're corralled and herded to their nearest wedge issue that resonates so we can focus all our discomfort and unhappiness at marketeer sanctioned foci. A few people say things like "huh automation, where's that going to go when there's no unskilled jobs?"
"Nah that's not a problem, job retraining and economics and stuff but HEY check out this buffet of exaggerated wedge issues. Don't the guys on the other side really piss you off? Haha yeah."
Millions of people divided into black vs. white issues where both sides are mostly reasonable people pissed off at the other side's crazies. Crazy is distributed evenly enough to support this system. The ebb and flow of the number of crazies on either side of the issue is balanced with media magnification and non-reporting.
Keep the fight going, never come to any conclusions at all costs.
The psychographics industry mastered provoking conspicuous consumption in the 80s and 90s. Household debt peaked in the early 2000's partially because of this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_debt#/media/File:U.S...
I think that over time, so much has wealth and.. potential has been sucked away that it's somehow more profitable for the industry to move on to influencing and directing outrage. "The attention economy" is the new state of things. Too much production for humans to consume it all. We have articles talking about "peak attention". How dehumanizing is that? Your attention and your thoughts have been commoditized. Companies pump it like oil and sell it back to you. We live on a mountain of abstractions that dehumanize us as individuals and stir us all together into a slurry of hardly dissimilar demographic chunks.
It'll be interesting to see what's next.
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] blueside|8 years ago|reply
The fashion assistant drives to your place with all the clothes you want to try, waits for you to try them on, perhaps offers some suggestions, and then leaves with whatever you don't want.
Has this type of idea ever been explored in the US?
[+] [-] tracker1|8 years ago|reply
Frankly, if custom ordering shirts/pants weren't hard to do right and as costly, I'd just do that.
[+] [-] dawnerd|8 years ago|reply
They do the same thing (kinda) with Prime Exclusives, which are laughably almost always available at Walmart and Target for the same price or cheaper...
[+] [-] thinkling|8 years ago|reply
I understand PrimePantry for heavy/bulky items like laundry detergent. I don't get it for lightweight stuff like razor blades. I can't figure out why those items can't be bought as Add-On items to regular shipments.
[+] [-] datamingle|8 years ago|reply
Makes sense to have the discount if you keep items, savings from processing returns.
[+] [-] bitL|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pizzetta|8 years ago|reply
Perhaps because it's not a subscription model in the way TC works, people feel less pressure to keep something?
[+] [-] VikingCoder|8 years ago|reply
...because it's Amazon.
No, seriously. Having a feature working somewhere on the internet, is totally different from having it working on Facebook, Google, or Amazon. Usage goes through the roof, because people already know and trust those behemoths.
[+] [-] wonder_bread|8 years ago|reply
Also the fact that you are the one choosing the items in the box as opposed to having a "stylist" choose them for you could be considered appealing (depending on the person).
[+] [-] mmagin|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] suyash|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] xsmasher|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tuna-piano|8 years ago|reply
Then they came for retailers, and I did not speak out - for I was not Macy's.
Then they came for the cloud, and I did not speak out - for I was not IBM.
Then they came for grocery delivery, and I did not speak out - for I was not PeaPod.
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.
RIP TrunkClub and Stitch Fix?
[+] [-] dbecker|8 years ago|reply
You just compared good customer service to the largest genocide in human history.
[+] [-] bitmapbrother|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BlackjackCF|8 years ago|reply