Today in retail: Amazon refashions the retail industry

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Amazon – in its second audacious move in less than a week – unveiled a new function today that threatens to shake up the online fashion world as we know it.

Amazon’s new Prime Wardrobe, currently only available in the US, allows its customers to order fashion items for free and only pay for what they decide to keep.

Prime shoppers are given seven days to decide which products they would like to keep and can schedule a free pick-up on any they’d like to return.

Following its purchase of Whole Foods last week, this is another move from the innovative ecommerce giant to iron out the online shopping journey and meet consumer demands.

If having physical stores can bolster shoppers’ confidence about buying groceries online, perhaps Prime Wardrobe can eradicate the frustration of high street changing rooms and slow, expensive returns.

Job cuts at Tesco

Later in the day it emerged that 1,100 jobs could be at risk, as Tesco plans to close a customer engagement centre in Cardiff in order to drive efficiency amid “unprecedented challenges” in the retail sector.

The grocery giant is cutting costs by consolidating its call centre operations into one site in Dundee, Scotland, where an additional 250 jobs will be created.

Quote of the day

“The retail sector is facing unprecedented challenges and we must ensure we run our business in a sustainable and cost-effective way, while meeting the changing needs of our customers.

“To help us achieve this, we’ve taken the difficult decision to close our customer service operations in Cardiff.”

– Tesco UK chief executive Matt Davies commenting on today’s job cuts