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Why aren’t women buying Amazon’s private label clothing?

Written by RetailWire Staff

Source: Amazon.com

Of all the categories being hit hard by the entry of Amazon.com, apparel is one often perceived as topping the list. But Amazon's private label women's apparel doesn't seem to be giving other clothing retailers as much trouble as some experts have projected.

According to the data analysis firm Jungle Scout, apparel represents 88 percent of all of Amazon's private label brands, but only one percent of its own brand sales. And four out of five Amazon women's private label apparel brands are selling fewer than 100 items each month, reports Bloomberg.

Despite these numbers, CNBC reports, there's evidence that Amazon sees a lot of private label product in its future. The e-tail giant has continued to expand the number of private label brands on its website. It has also begun promoting its private label brand alternatives on the listings of competitive products and launched a program to allow third parties to create products specifically for Amazon's private label collections.

While the private label pieces might not be grabbing women apparel shoppers' attention, Amazon is still giving brick-and-mortar apparel retail a run for its money. For instance, a survey from Coresight earlier in 2018 indicated that a significant percentage of money spent on apparel at Target was being shifted over to Amazon.

But rather than private labels, the top brands sold on Amazon were Nike, Under Armour and Hanes, according to the Star Tribune.

Potential competition from Amazon's private labels hasn't prevented some retailers from availing themselves of the e-tailer's unparalleled reach. Flagging mall brand J.Crew, for instance, recently began selling its products on the Amazon Marketplace.

Amazon has also taken other steps to get its clothing in the hands of customers. It recently expanded its Prime Wardrobe program, which allows Prime members shopping for apparel to try on and return clothing for free, to the U.K. 

Thus far Amazon has not leveraged its relationships with brick-and-mortar retailers like Kohl's to gets its private label products on physical shelves. 

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