For Teen Vogue, by Marissa G. Muller.
There is something very strange happening with Amazon's pricing strategy for clothing, Racked reports: One browse at the site's upscale selection reveals that there is no consistency for pricing.
Usually when retailers have a different pricing set for the same item, their reasoning can be traced back to size. Old Navy, for instance, received a lot of backlash when they started charging a premium for plus-size items. But Amazon's pricing seems to be independent of fabric cost or non-standard sizing. For instance, Racked points out that a size XL black Gypsy Sport hoodie is $132.33, but the large is $92 while the small is $131.
Could availability be the issue instead of fabric cost? It would make sense that Amazon is playing a game of supply and demand. Just a handful of months ago, Forbes reported on how the retailer is looking to become a contender in the fashion world, but in the position of having to prove itself to brands who, like most Americans, associate Amazon with discounts. So Amazon could be charging more for popular sizes because it wants to win over more designers.
Another theory is that, by charging a spectrum of prices for different sizes, Amazon is dissuading customers from ordering a handful of sizes to find the right fit — which would be a pioneering move, if that's the case. Returns are a financial and logistical nightmare for brands and retailers and avoiding them could save a ton of money.
We've reached out to Amazon for a statement.
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