What Is Prime Wardrobe? Everything You Need to Know
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Amazon has changed the online shopping game, and this is especially true when it comes to Amazon Wardrobe. Making online clothes shopping easier than ever, Amazon Prime Wardrobe allows Prime members to order a variety of sartorial staples online-for free.
Once ordered, shoppers can try on dresses, clogs, T-shirts, joggers, and more in the comfort of their own home, only paying for what they keep. With Amazon Prime Wardrobe, you can order women’s, men’s, kids and baby clothing, plus shoes and accessories.
In this guide, we’ll explore the ins and outs of this Amazon Prime member program, detailing everything you need to know as a shopper. Plus, we’ll delve into how the Prime Wardrobe service is different from clothing subscription services as well as from ordering clothing through regular ‘ol Amazon Prime. We’ll also investigate the pros and cons of selling your own products via Amazon’s marketplace.
Prime Wardrobe 101
“Try before you buy,” has taken over the ecommerce retail world. Prime Wardrobe is, like all Amazon Prime services, user-friendly and free to Prime members, designed to keep customers coming back.
Here, we delve deeper into how Amazon Prime Wardrobe functions from the consumer side including:
- How does Prime Wardrobe work?
- What is the Prime Wardrobe return policy?
- When are you charged for Prime Wardrobe?
- What clothes are available through Prime Wardrobe?
How Does Amazon Prime Wardrobe Work?
Prime Members can peruse a variety of brands of clothing, choosing up to eight items (and a minimum requirement of three) for Amazon direct shipping delivered directly to their door.
Shoppers get a full seven days to try on the items at home; whatever they don’t like, they can return. They’ll only be charged for the clothing they keep.
Here’s how it works:
- To find eligible products for Prime Wardrobe, customers just have to log in to their Prime account.
- Plug in the keyword of what they’re in the market for, like “summer dress.”
- Then on the far left side of the browser, consumers can click the Prime Wardrobe box under “Filters” to be sure they’re only perusing Prime Wardrobe eligible items.
If customers aren’t sure what their closet is craving, they can also visit the Prime Wardrobe landing page1 and search curated filters like “Retro Prints,” “The Comfort Zone,” and “Sweater-Weather Essentials.”
All Prime Wardrobe returns are free (more on that below) and there are no fees associated with the service as it’s included with what they pay monthly for their Prime Membership.
A service that does cost a monthly fee for users is Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe, an additional service that, for only $4.99 a month, lets Amazon expert stylists do their shopping for them.
Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe
Personal Shopper operates the same way as Prime Wardrobe, so customers can order the same number of clothing items and the same return policy is in place. The only difference is with Personal Shopper, customers instantly become the star of their own HGTV show “What to Wear Next.”
Here’s a quick breakdown of how this personal shopping service works:
- Customers create a profile and complete a quick survey so that the Amazon stylists will be familiar with their preferences, from personal aesthetic to budget to sizing.
- Customers can include specific requests for their stylist. For example, customers may let them know that they definitely want a pair of designer jeans included in every curated lineup.
- Prime members can also preview their stylists’ picks and choose three to eight items to try on at home.
- From there, customers have a seven-day try-on period to find their favorite fits, and return the rest.
Users can cancel their Personal Shopper service at any time.
What Is the Prime Wardrobe Return Policy?
Prime Wardrobe items may arrive on different days—typically, a prime customer can expect the full order to arrive within 4-6 business days.
Once the last shipment arrives, this is when the seven-day trial period kicks in. Before this period is over, customers can go to the Your Orders page on their Amazon account and choose which Prime Wardrobe items they’re keeping and which they’re returning.
Customers can use the provided return label for their Prime Wardrobe order and drop their package at the nearest UPS. If a customer’s items arrive on different days in multiple packages, they can use any of the return labels to return their unwanted items.
Items must be returned, unused, unwashed, and undamaged with tags on in their original packaging—this means no wearing an evening gown out for the weekend and then trying to return it free of charge.
In the case that a customer keeps one of their items and then decides to return it after the end of the try-on period, they still have 30 days from the end of this period to return the clothing item or items for a refund.
When Are You Charged For Prime Wardrobe?
Customers will be charged for whatever items they still have in their possession at the end of the seven day try-on period at 11:59 PM local time.
What Clothes Are available Through Prime Wardrobe?
Prime members can find small labels and national names on Amazon Prime Wardrobe, with pricing options ranging from the very affordable to designer-level pricey.
Some popular fashion brands include:
- Levi’s
- Calvin Klein
- J Brand
- Theory
- AIX Armani
- Lucky Brand
- Alex and Ani
- … and more
Specific brands may highlight certain clothing items depending on the season and what’s trending, making it even easier for shopaholics on the fence to decide what they’d like to put in their Prime Wardrobe shipment.
For example, Amazon brand Daily Ritual has an “Elevate Your Everyday” page linked to Prime Wardrobe; shoppers who follow this link will find pages upon pages of simple, comfortable, yet stylish staples like jersey dresses and poplin pants.
Prime Wardrobe vs. Clothing Subscription Services vs. Amazon Prime
Amazon has masterfully created viable revenue streams through retail, subscriptions, and web services.
Amazon understands that in 2021, most people are over the in-person shopping experience: malls are dead zones; the threat of an ongoing pandemic rages on, making face-to-face shopping even less desirable; and the options to TBYB increase every day.
In addition to Prime Wardrobe, Amazon has also upped their fashion game by launching StyleSnap, a tool that lets people take a picture of a clothing item and search for it online.2
All that being said, there are still some shoppers who may wonder if a subscription service like Stitch Fix or Nuuly is better suited for them, or if simply ordering clothing from Amazon the old-fashioned way makes more sense.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the factors that set Prime Wardrobe apart from its competitors, as well as from Amazon Prime itself:
- Fees – Most subscription services require a commitment with a monthly styling fee ranging from $10+ (in addition to whatever you pay for the clothes you keep). Prime Wardrobe requires no commitment and no fee, unless you choose to use the Personal Shopper service.
- Power of choice – In a Business Insider review, writer James Brains noted that Prime Wardrobe’s TBYB clothing service was preferable to others because consumers are able to choose exactly what they want—most other services have the built-in stylist feature, whether you want it or not.3
- No upfront payments – Unlike ordering directly from Amazon Prime, with Prime Wardrobe you pay nothing up front. So if you decide to return an item with Prime Wardrobe, you’ll never be charged, as opposed to Amazon Prime, which charges you up front and then will send you a refund once the item is returned.
For individuals who prefer to do all of their clothes shopping online-in bulk-and who aren’t fixated on a certain brand, but are open to many different styles, Prime Wardrobe is likely the best online retail option. Nonetheless, an Amazon Prime member still has access to endless choices and benefits offered by Amazon.
Small Businesses Taking Their Cues from Prime Wardrobe
Giants like Amazon—who launched Prime Wardrobe in the U.S. in 2018—have even inspired smaller startups to create their own versions of this model.
Take for instance TryNow, a San Francisco-based startup that offers technology to online vendors that use Shopify Plus.4 As of March 2021, TryNow had already raised $12 million to continue their expansion plans. Investors obviously see the potential within this TBYB landscape.
Sell Your Products on Amazon with Power Digital Marketing
As we’ve detailed, there are many benefits for shoppers who choose to use Amazon Prime Wardrobe, but what about sellers?
If you’re a clothing brand and choose to sell your products through Amazon marketplace, you may be wondering if your items will appear on Prime Wardrobe.
According to Amazon:5
The eligible products that qualify for Prime Wardrobe and the minimum and maximum items
per order may change from time to time in our sole discretion.
So, whether or not your brand makes its way to the Prime Wardrobe catalogue, you may still want to consider selling your products—including clothing and accessories—through this ecommerce titan.
Consider the following boons of selling on Amazon along with keeping in mind Amazon seller mistakes to avoid6:
- Reach a new and varied audience of countries all over the world
- Gain credibility—Amazon has spent years gaining the trust of its millions of subscribers
- Hand over all shipping responsibilities to the pros with the optional Fulfillment by Amazon service
Ready to further investigate becoming a successful Amazon vendor?
Try On New Possibilities with Power Digital Marketing
Power Digital Marketing has an entire Amazon marketing management team that can help you successfully list your product, adapt to the constantly changing Amazon algorithms, improve SEO, and launch new campaigns. Our team is also here to keep you up to date on new Amazon offerings such as Amazon moments and Amazon FBA.
With PDM, your product will stand out like a glistening pearl in the sea of millions of items available through Amazon.
Sources:
- Amazon. Prime Wardrobe. https://www.amazon.com/learn-more-prime-wardrobe/b?ie=UTF8&node=16122413011
- The Verge. Amazon Launches a Personal Shopper Service That Sends Monthly Curated Clothing Boxes. https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/31/20748632/amazon-personal-shopper-prime-wardrobe-service-style-subscription-box
- Business Insider. Amazon Prime Wardrobe Review. https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-wardrobe-for-men-review
- TechCrunch. TryNow raises $12M to Bring Try-Before-You-Buy, Prime Wardrobe as a Service to Online Retailers. https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/22/trynow-raises-12m-to-bring-try-before-you-buy-amazon-wardrobe-as-a-service-to-online-retailers/
- Amazon. Help & Customer Service. https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=202159370
- Power Digital Marketing. Should I Sell My Product On Amazon? Here’s What You Need to Know. https://powerdigitalmarketing.com/blog/should-i-sell-my-product-on-amazon-heres-what-you-need-to-know/
- Business Insider. What is Prime Wardrobe? https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-prime-wardrobe#:~:text=Prime%20Wardrobe%20is%20a%20program,home%20before%20you%20buy%20them.&text=You’ll%20select%20what%20you,don’t%20want%20to%20buy.
- CNET. Amazon Prime Wardrobe: How to Use Amazon’s Dressing Room. https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/how-amazon-prime-wardrobe-works/