Amazon Hair | London | London

47 Brushfield St, London E1 6AA, UK

Amazon is opening a 1,500-square-foot, tech-first hair salon in East London.

We’ve started a new paragraph to give your brain time to process the above.

Amazon Salon is a rare in-person foray into the small but growing world of commerce-oriented augmented reality. The store takes try-before-you-buy to a new level, giving customers a demo or their hair in various virtual colors. They can preview a pink 'do before fully committing.

Product selection runs on “point-and-learn” technology. If you like that accessory on the display shelf, scan the QR code, tap buy, then voilà, the product is delivered to your house.
The salon will open to employees first and to the general public “in the coming weeks.”

But...why? A working theory

Amazon leans on brick-and-mortar stores to test cashierless technology, computer vision, and smart shopping carts. Why not AR too?

It’s already layered in one key digital channel—Amazon’s mobile app. On newer iPhones and Androids, “View in Your Room” lets shoppers virtually sample products via AR. Graphics are rendered to scale, giving customers a sense of how a couch would look in their living room.

Unlike other Amazon retail efforts, Salon does not have a multi-store destiny. The London store is instead simply an “experiential venue” to test and showcase new technology.

Bottom line: Amazon Salon pairs AR with a service that can't be delivered online, and swaps the traditional store for an inventory-light, experience-driven product.