What: Amazon is to open a physical clothing store called Amazon Style, where they will sell clothing, shoes and accessories in Los Angeles, next to Nordstrom and JC Penney.

Why is it important: Although Amazon has become the largest clothing retailer in America, they have decided to expand to a physical store since in-store purchases make up more than 85% of US retail sales.

Amazon Style, which is expected to span over 3,000 sqm, will allow their shoppers to physically see how clothes look, feel and fit before they buy. With a mix of hundreds of well-known brands (although the list is not disclosed yet) and its own private-label brands, Amazon will be able to reach customers who want to shop in person and also drive growth of Amazon's more profitable, lesser-known private labels.

Amazon hopes this will make shopping quicker and more personalized for customers. The clothing will be kept in the back of the store and a sample of each item will be displayed on the sales floor. To purchase items, customers can scan a QR code using a mobile Amazon shopping app and then pick them up at a special counter. If they want to try it on first, they can get it sent to a fitting room, which has touchscreens where customers can request different sizes or colors.

Concretely, this means that customers will be able to scan a QR code whenever they see a product in store, which will give them the sizes, colours, ratings and additional product details. This also means that the racks will not be displaying all sizes of the same clothes. Once the QR code is clicked, customers will have the possibility to try the selected item in the fitting room or pick it up directly at the sales counter for purchase.

Of course, this will also allow Amazon to gather even more data in terms of customers’ preferences and tastes, and therefore make more personalized recommendations, as Amazon's algorithms will recommend other items customers may be interested in as they browse the store and scan items.

Other advantages to the physical store are that customers can drop off their Amazon returns at the store, or order online and pick them up there.

This is not Amazon’s first venture in physical retail as they already operate brick and mortar stores, 4-star stores and Amazon Go convenience stores in the US and other markets. Analysts are cautious about this venture: even thought this will for sure alter customers’ behaviour and bring new technologies and new usages, the difficulty for Amazon will not lie in execution but in getting the right line up in terms of brands.

Amazon is opening a clothing store next to Nordstrom and JC Penney 

Amazon Style