Amazon has announced that it will officially terminate its "Prime Try Before You Buy" clothing program, previously known as "Prime Wardrobe," effective Friday, January 31, 2025. This decision comes as part of the company’s broader restructuring strategy aimed at enhancing efficiency and innovation within its North America Stores team.
Launched in 2017 and made available to paid Prime members in 2018, the service allowed users to select up to six items from a curated collection of luxury, staple, and Amazon-owned brands. Members had the unique opportunity to try on these items at home for over seven days before deciding which items to keep, only paying for what they retained.
The cancellation of this popular service aligns with Amazon's ongoing technological updates and cost-cutting measures. The company has noted a shift in consumer behavior, with many members increasingly utilizing new AI-powered features like virtual try-on tools and personalized size recommendations to streamline their shopping experience.
A spokesperson for Amazon stated, “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.”
Despite the discontinuation of the "Try Before You Buy" program, Amazon will continue to offer Prime members free returns for eligible products that weigh less than 50 pounds and are received in new and unused condition for up to 30 days after purchase. This ensures that customers still have a level of flexibility when purchasing clothing items.
The decision to end this program follows recent layoffs of approximately 200 staff members from Amazon's corporate offices. These job eliminations are part of the larger restructuring efforts aimed at streamlining operations within the company.
The "Prime Try Before You Buy" service had positioned itself similarly to subscription-based clothing rental services like Stitch Fix, Rent the Runway, and Nuuly. However, as consumer preferences evolve and technology advances, Amazon's pivot away from this model reflects a significant shift in its retail strategy.
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