Dive Brief:
- The Amazon Echo Look style assistant is now available to all U.S. customers, according to a company press release. Priced at $199.99, the device combines a depth-sensing camera, LED lighting and a background blur effect with Alexa voice technology for personalized clothing recommendations, as well as closet organization.
- Since its debut in April 2017, the device was previously available by invitation only. It takes still and video images with hands-free commands, and ties in with Amazon's growing apparel selection.
- Amazon has also reportedly had discussions to begin offering insurance that would work with its connected home devices, The Information reported. Although Amazon does not have concrete plans to enter the insurance market, shares of some insurance companies declined on the news and then recovered, CNBC reported.
Dive Insight:
In a move that aims to support its push into apparel, the company’s Echo Look device is now generally available to provide style recommendations and even advice on organizing closets, along with all of the benefits of the Alexa platform. It represents yet another example of advanced uses of images and video in e-commerce.
The Echo Look brings new levels of personalization to apparel e-commerce, and is anticipated to appeal to tech savvy millennials. But questions have been raised about privacy on the heels of an Alexa eavesdropping incident last month, reported by multiple media outlets.
Among its features are Style Check combining machine-learning algorithms and advice from fashion specialists; Daily Look to catalog of outfits in a lookbook; Collections to help organize and curate closets by such factors as season, weather, color and occasion; and personalized style recommendations. The Echo Look companion app provides fashion tips from Amazon, Vogue and GQ.
With its sleek oval design and camera capabilities, and the robust mobile app, the device addresses many questions involved with style and apparel, including “how does this look on me?” Recommendations of items already owned, along with the anticipated loyalty the device will cultivate, may well lead to more sales for Amazon’s growing apparel selection. Amazon is closing in on Macy’s as the country’s largest apparel merchant, with 52% of online apparel shoppers clicking on Amazon.
If realized, home insurance would represent yet another step into consumers’ lives following the recent purchase of the smart doorbell company Ring, the launch of the in-home delivery service Amazon Key and an expansion of the Key program to delivering to Prime members’ cars with Amazon Key In-Car. So far the in-home delivery service has been unpopular, with 75.9% of women saying they are unwilling to use it, according to a study by InsuranceQuotes. But how those opinions would change if insurance premiums were cut significantly by Amazon is another question.
