Have Amazon and Shein cracked the omnichannel fashion code?

Fashion retailers have been dabbling with various versions of omnichannel strategies for well over a decade now, but no model has stood out from the rest.

For example, many have experimented with delivering to customers’ doorsteps from the store. But this means treating your store like a warehouse, and the results from players that have tried this reflect the issues with this approach – I’m no fan.

However, it seems like Amazon and Shein may have finally cracked the code to omnichannel fashion retailing. Where these big players go, the rest of the industry follow. Let me explain why.

Photo credit: VicVa / Shutterstock

Diving into Amazon Style

Amazon Style opened its first store in May this year. Located near Los Angeles, the huge store’s main concept is that customers scan barcodes on the clothing they like and then the goods are brought to a fitting room. Here’s a video showing how this works:

Basically, there is only a single piece of every product on display in the shop floor. Customers can scan the barcodes of the styles they like, adding them to their list of items to try on. With this approach, Amazon can showcase more inventory and create more of a luxury feel.

The products are then fetched from a small warehouse inside the store and brought to the fitting room via an automated system along the ceiling, as you can see in the video. Amazon also uses AI to recommend some items that customers may like so they can try them on as well.

The customer is notified via the Amazon Shopping app that all the items they selected are ready in the spacious fitting room, which feels like a hotel room.

If a customer wants to try an item in a different size, they can simply order it through a touchscreen in the fitting room. It will be delivered in a couple of minutes.

As I see it, there are three critical elements differentiating the Amazon fashion retail experience:

1. Encourage customers to try on a vast assortment of options
2. Broad use of AI and personalization
3. Economize on store space by having only one of every item on the floor

The Shein model

Shein is a Chinese fashion behemoth established in 2008 and is now often called “the TikTok of Fashion.” This is not just because of its size and growth, but also because of its strategy.

The ultrafast-fashion brand blows away all its competitors in terms of the assortment of items it produces, with literally thousands of new styles added to the site daily.

Four essentials

Three “end state” models