Amazon has announced the launch of Luxury Stores, a new marketplace offering both established and emerging luxury fashion and beauty brands.

Fashion house Oscar de la Renta is among the first brands to open a store on the site, with more similar retailers promised in the coming weeks.

With collections sold directly from the participating brands as a ‘store within a store’ experience, they can independently make decisions regarding their inventory, selection and pricing - while Amazon offers merchandising tools to create and personalise content.

Available on the Amazon app in the US by invitation only, Luxury Stores features technology like View in 360, which allows customers to explore styles in 360-degree detail to better visualise fit.

“We are always listening to and learning from our customers, and we are inspired by feedback from Prime members who want the ability to shop their favourite luxury brands in Amazon’s store,” said Christine Beauchamp, president of Amazon Fashion. “We are excited to offer luxury brands the services and technology to build an inspiring, elevated customer experience."

Alex Bolen, chief executive of Oscar de la Renta, stated: “As a global leader in retail, Amazon has a relentless focus on improving the customer experience through constant innovation, utilising technology and customer feedback.

"We admire Amazon’s customer-centric focus and look forward to telling our brand’s story in compelling and engaging ways to even more customers through the Luxury Stores experience.”

As noted last month, Luxury Stores was initially scheduled for the Spring, but was put on hold due to Coronavirus and will now be unveiled in September, in time for fashion show season.

Meanwhile, Amazon Fashion continues to expand its selection and create new experiences, including Prime Wardrobe, allowing members to try before they buy, and Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe, which provides style inspiration and curated recommendations. It also recently introduced The Drop, which gives customers access to limited-edition street-style collections designed by fashion influencers around the world.

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