Is the digital revolution changing the way we try on clothes? Amazon has just announced the closure of its “Try Before You Buy” service, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, dominated by artificial intelligence.
The end of an era
“Try Before You Buy” by Amazon Prime, launched in 2018 under the name of Amazon Wardrobe, will close its doors on January 31, 2025. The service allowed Prime members to order up to six items of clothing, try them on for a week and pay only for the ones you decide to keep.
The reasons for the closure
The closure of the service, to be honest, is part of a broader context of cost reduction by the e-commerce giant. In recent years, Amazon has made massive layoffs, closed physical stores and scaled back some of its food initiatives. There is no doubt, however, that the service was abandoned because it was not deemed essential.
Returning to the technical question, Maxine Tagay, spokesman for Amazon, explains:
Given that Try Before You Buy only worked for a limited number of items and that customers are increasingly using our new AI-powered features, we decided to remove this option.
In short? Amazon is not completely abandoning the idea of trying on clothes, but it is radically transforming it by focusing entirely on new technologies, such as the function of Virtual clothes try-on in augmented reality, which currently lets you see shoes from certain brands on your feet using your smartphone camera. And what about clothes?
Try on clothes, artificial intelligence enters (even) the closet
Another innovative tool is the system of personalized size recommendations, based on large linguistic models (LLM). This system analyzes customer reviews to refine its size recommendations.
In short, Amazon's message is clear: the future of shopping will be increasingly digital and AI-driven. Customers will continue to enjoy fast, free shipping, with easy, free returns on the entire clothing selection, but they will have to say goodbye to the ability to physically try on items before purchasing.
Try on VR and AI clothes, a digital paradox
Technology promises to make online shopping more precise and personalized than ever before. It is curious to think, however, that for reduce returns, Amazon is abandoning the only system that allowed you to be 100% sure of your choice.
Maybe in a few years we will find ourselves telling the youngest people about when, way back in 2024, you could still try on clothes before buying them online. “Really?”, they will ask us incredulously, while they put on their perfect virtual clothes selected by AI.