Amazon expands personal shopping service to include menswear

The company is expanding its Personal Shopper feature, which launched last year for women's clothing, to include menswear.

For $5 a month, Amazon Prime customers can choose up to eight items of clothing to have shipped to them to try on. They pay for the ones they want to keep, and ship the rest back for free within seven days.

The service also allows shoppers to make specific attire requests, for, say, a Zoom job interview.

The expansion comes during a difficult time for clothing retail.

Employers' work-from-home mandates, along with mass unemployment ushered in by the pandemic, have transformed the concept of workwear, which is increasingly merging with athleisure styles that prioritize comfort and function.

Over the summer, Brooks Brothers, the menswear brand that became synonymous with the classic Wall Street banker look, filed for bankruptcy. Men's Wearhouse is also struggling.

Online sales are a bright spot for many retailers, however.

And the pandemic has bolstered Amazon's e-commerce dominance. It reported $88.9 billion in sales during its latest quarter ending June 30, up 40% from the same period a year earlier.

The expanded personal shopper service puts Amazon in direct competition with Stitch Fix, a clothing subscription company with a similar buy-what-you-like model. Stitch Fix reported a bigger-than-expected net loss last quarter, but its stock is still up 5% this year.