Packages with the logo of Amazon are transported at a packing station of a redistribution centre of US online retail giant Amazon in Horn-Bad Meinberg, western Germany, on December 9, 2024.
Ina Fassbender | Afp | Getty Images
Amazon is shutting down “Prime Try Before You Buy,” a competitor to Stitch Fix that allowed Prime members to try out clothes, shoes and accessories and only pay for items they wanted to keep.
The service will be discontinued on Jan. 31, according to a notice posted to Amazon’s website. The notice then directs users to browse Amazon’s fashion homepage.
Try Before You Buy is the latest example of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s ongoing efforts to rein in costs across the company. Beginning in 2022 and extending throughout 2024, Amazon initiated the largest layoffs in the company’s history, cutting more than 27,000 jobs across the company. It’s also shuttered several of its experimental projects, like a speedy brick-and-mortar delivery service, its telehealth offering and a quirky video-calling device for kids.
An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the move, which was first reported by The Information.
“Given the combination of Try Before You Buy only scaling to a limited number of items and customers increasingly using our new AI-powered features like virtual try-on, personalized size recommendations, review highlights, and improved size charts to make sure they find the right fit, we’re phasing out the Try Before You Buy option, effective January 31, 2025,” the spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.
Amazon rolled out the service, which was previously called Prime Wardrobe, in 2017. It was only available to members of Amazon’s $139-per-year Prime subscription program, which also includes perks like speedy shipping and access to streaming services.
Users could test out a mix of luxury, staple and Amazon-owned brands, and return whatever they didn’t want to keep for free within seven days of receiving the items. The service operated similarly to wardrobe subscription services like Stitch Fix and Rent the Runway, as well as newer entrants like Urban Oufitters‘ Nuuly.
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