What: Amazon is shutting down its two high-tech specialty apparel stores, known as Amazon Style. The company plans to focus on its online fashion shopping experience instead.

Why it is important: The closure of Amazon Style stores shows the company's shift towards prioritizing its online fashion shopping experience.

The stores, which opened in 2022, offered a unique retail approach, allowing customers to personalize their shopping experience using the Amazon app. However, the stores struggled to attract regular customers and faced challenges with their complex automated fitting room system. Despite the closure of the physical stores, Amazon remains committed to its retail ambitions and will continue to invest in its grocery stores business.

Amazon's fashion business, which includes both first-party and third-party sales, is estimated to be worth USD 67 billion. The company is looking to enhance its fashion offering with services like virtual try-ons and fit recommendations.

Amazon is closing its high-tech fashion specialty stores