Amazon shuts down Prime 'Try Before You Buy' program in favor of new AI features

[midian182]

What just happened? Amazon's Prime Try Before You Buy service, which lets users try items for a week before deciding if they want to purchase them, is being closed down. According to the retail giant, the popularity of its AI-powered features was a major factor in its decision. But the main reason is likely that Amazon wants to cut down its volume of returns.

Launching for all Prime subscribers in 2018 when it was then called Prime Wardrobe, the Prime Try Before You Buy service allows Prime members to order up to six items of clothing, shoes and accessories that were part of the program, try them out at home for up to a week, and return anything they don't like. Customers are only charged for the items they keep.

On January 31, around seven years after it arrived, Amazon will shut down the Try Before You Buy service. A spokesperson said the reason for the closure was partly due to the program featuring a limited number of items. They also said AI-powered features such as virtual try-on – which uses a smartphone camera to place virtual renders of shoes on your feet – personalized size recommendations, review highlights, and improved size charts mean trying clothing items on at home before buying them is less important – again, that's according to Amazon.

The main reason for the closure, one that Amazon doesn't mention, is likely related to returns. The company is trying to cut down its returns volume, which skyrocketed during the pandemic and has remained high since then. In March 2023, Amazon rolled out a warning label on "frequently returned" products in the hope it would discourage customers from purchasing low-quality or misleading items they were more likely to return.

It's speculated that some people abuse the Try Before You Buy service, including picking items for a single event with no intention of buying them, or fraudulently returning older clothes in place of the new ones.

The cessation also represents the latest cost-cutting move by Amazon. The company has laid off around 27,000 people since 2020 from divisions including Amazon Web Services (AWS), human resources, advertising, and Twitch. It has also announced the closure of all its Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star, and Pop Up stores across the US and UK, totaling 68 locations, shut down several Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh locations, and phased out its "Just Walk Out" technology at Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the US, replacing it with Amazon Dash Carts.

Permalink to story:

Amazon shuts down Prime 'Try Before You Buy' program in favor of new AI features

 

[DrSuess]

I'm surprised "Try before you buy" lasted this long. Never used it but it looked like it could have been costly if the number of returns were high. I suppose the return rate was reasonable the program lasted 6 years.

 

[SirDigby]

Gutted, I've used Try Before You Buy a fair bit, as I don't often get to physical shops to try things on. AR will not be able to tell me how well a shoe fits or how tight a waistband is.

 

[madboyv1]

I've always preferred brick & mortar whenever it came to anything that would physically go on my body, but I had used the Try Before You Buy feature a few times (maybe 6 times in the last 7 years) and appreciated what it did and how effortless/painless it was to return what did not fit. I was always 100% sure I wanted a particular garment, it was a matter of which size would fit best, versus trying a bunch of items and returning it all, so I'd like to think I was never part of the calculus that went into the decision to axe it ha ha ha...

 

[toooooot]

I'm surprised "Try before you buy" lasted this long. Never used it but it looked like it could have been costly if the number of returns were high. I suppose the return rate was reasonable the program lasted 6 years.

All I could think about was those girls who love fashion and would buy boxes of clothing if they had money. Amazon give them the ability, at least for a time lol.
To work, this program, required that most people bought what they tried.
A lot would, but as it usually the majority has to suffer because of those few who screw up every good thing.

 

[DrSuess]

All I could think about was those girls who love fashion and would buy boxes of clothing if they had money.

That is exactly how I envisioned it too.

 

[captaincranky]

This type of things happens with musical instruments, particularly with guitars. some truly self serving "musicians", will order two or three of the same instrument, play them for awhile, keep the one the like best, and send the rest back. Hell, over at AGF, they even brag about it.