Amazon Prime Phases Out Clothing Try-On Service, AI Features Take Over

January 13, 2025 – According to a report by The Information, Amazon has announced that it will officially shut down its “Prime Try Before You Buy” service on January 31, 2025. This service, which allowed Prime members to try on clothing before purchasing and only pay for what they liked, is being phased out due to its limited applicability and the increasing use of Amazon’s new AI features by customers.

In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Maxine Tagay explained that the decision to discontinue the service was made because it only applies to a “limited number of items,” while customers are increasingly relying on Amazon’s newly introduced AI capabilities to make purchase decisions.

Tagay highlighted some of these AI functionalities, such as the “Virtual Try-On AR feature,” which uses a smartphone camera to render 3D shoe models from certain brands onto users’ feet. She also mentioned the “Personalized Size Recommendations” feature, developed using Large Language Models (LLM), which adjusts size suggestions based on customer reviews.

“Given that the ‘Try Before You Buy’ service only applies to a limited range of products, and with customers increasingly utilizing our new AI features like Virtual Try-On, Personalized Size Recommendations, highlighted reviews, and improved size charts to ensure they find the right products, we have decided to phase out the ‘Try Before You Buy’ option effective January 31, 2025,” Tagay stated. “Of course, customers can still enjoy fast, free shipping and convenient, free returns on our full range of clothing.”

The “Prime Try Before You Buy” service, initially launched in 2018 as “Amazon Wardrobe” and later renamed, permitted Prime members to order up to six items at a time, try them on for seven days, and only pay for the items they wished to keep, while returning the rest free of charge.

According to CNBC, the discontinuation of the “Try Before You Buy” service aligns with Amazon’s cost-cutting measures implemented over the years. The company has previously undergone significant layoffs, closed some physical stores, and reduced its investment in the grocery sector.

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