Saks Fifth Avenue has launched a storefront on Amazon’s Luxury Stores platform, a move that challenges traditional notions of luxury shopping and raises new questions about prestige, sustainability, and the future of department stores.
Luxury shopping took a decisive, if surprising, turn this month as Saks Fifth Avenue debuted a curated storefront on Amazon’s “Luxury Stores” platform. Long a bastion of old-world glamour, Saks is now testing whether high-end fashion can thrive alongside the convenience-first ethos that built the world’s largest online retailer.
The collaboration, announced Tuesday, marks a significant evolution in both companies’ strategies. Saks Fifth Avenue’s storefront on Amazon.com will sell designer goods from labels like Dolce & Gabbana and Balmain. The storefront will function as a “store within a store” under the Amazon Luxury umbrella, a section the e-commerce giant introduced in 2020 to house its growing collection of high-end fashion and beauty items, including Oscar de la Renta and pre-owned accessories from Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.
“We’re really excited about this opportunity to be able to access a client who’s shopping on Amazon, who is qualified for luxury,” Emily Essner, president and chief commercial officer of Saks Global, said in a statement. She added that the partnership would also offer insights into customer behavior and engagement.
Amazon has been steadily increasing its investment in the luxury sector. In December, it became an investor in Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, coinciding with Saks’ $2.65 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus. This deeper financial entanglement signals a longer-term interest from Amazon in shaping the future of luxury commerce.
Amazon customers will now be able to browse designer labels like Fear of God, Stella McCartney, and Balmain, alongside premium beauty products from La Prairie and Chantecaille. Saks will retain ownership of inventory, manage fulfillment, and oversee customer service for all transactions initiated through Amazon.
The move comes as luxury retail faces intensified pressure. Bain & Company’s “Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study” found that online sales accounted for more than 20 percent of the personal luxury goods market in 2023, up from five percent a decade ago. E-commerce is projected to be the leading channel for luxury sales by 2030, according to the same report.
Meanwhile, luxury brands are increasingly courting middle-class consumers with more affordable products, reshaping the industry while raising questions about quality, exclusivity, and sustainability. This repositioning comes in response to slowed sales and a shrinking aspirational shopper base. U.S. spending on top luxury brands fell six percent year over year in November 2024, according to Citi credit card data, and global sales of personal luxury goods are projected to decline by two percent for the year.
In recent years, luxury houses have launched more accessible entry points: Gucci’s $440 pet leash, Burberry’s “scarf bars,” and Ganni’s New Balance trainers all cater to consumers seeking smaller indulgences. Fragrances, often priced under $200, have also emerged as a key category for aspirational shoppers. The message is clear: luxury is no longer reserved for those who can afford $10,000 handbags.
But this democratization of luxury is not without compromise. “Luxury is in chaos,” said Gill Linton, co-founder of the luxury vintage platform Byronesque. In a New York Times op-ed, longtime fashion editor Katharine K. Zarrella recounted her experience with expensive Marc Jacobs boots that quickly fell apart. “My experience sums up everything that’s gone wrong with what once served as semiotic shorthand for the good life… As costs climb, quality hasn’t. In fact, it’s largely declined.”
Taleen Akopyan, a leather restoration expert, reported a growing number of repairs on brand-new items from Chanel and Louis Vuitton. “What we used to see with vintage heirloom bags, we’re now doing for new purchases that are falling apart within months,” she said in an interview.
That same ubiquity is being amplified by social media, where TikTok and Instagram have transformed luxury into visual currency. The aspirational effect is magnified by Buy Now, Pay Later apps like Klarna, which blur the lines between indulgence and accessibility. But critics argue this ease of entry threatens the very foundation of luxury as a space of exclusivity and permanence.
“Luxury has always been about emotional resonance, not just transactional convenience,” Luca Solca, senior research analyst for luxury goods at Bernstein, wrote in a recent note to investors. “Putting luxury in the same basket as everyday commodities risks undermining that emotional connection.”
Sustainability, once considered a differentiating strength of the luxury sector, is now also under scrutiny. Historically, the emphasis on craftsmanship and durability aligned luxury with the concept of “fewer, better things.” But as brands chase affordability, concerns around overproduction and material sourcing have intensified. Caroline Reyl, head of premium brands at Pictet Asset Management, noted that luxury brands are at a sustainability crossroads. “They must balance accessibility with their pledges to reduce environmental impact.”
A growing share of luxury goods are sold through outlet stores, often as a way to offload excess inventory. Bain & Company found that thirteen percent of all luxury purchases in 2023 came from discount outlets, up from five percent a decade earlier. While this strategy boosts short-term revenue, it chips away at both environmental goals and brand mystique.
In an ironic twist, Saks’ move to Amazon could also be seen as a survival strategy for brick-and-mortar retail. Despite a roaring rebound in travel retail and tourist spending post-pandemic, department stores are still grappling with a long, slow decline. Data from last year found that foot traffic at U.S. department stores grew by just 0.4 percent over 2023, with most of that growth happening in discount retailers, including Walmart and Target.
Still, Saks has weathered the storm better than many of its competitors, thanks to a 2021 decision to split its e-commerce business from its brick-and-mortar stores, valuing its digital arm at $2 billion. Yet the underlying trends are clear. Younger consumers, especially Gen Z and millennials, are more likely to shop online for luxury purchases. A McKinsey report found that 78 percent of luxury sales influenced by Gen Z begin or end online.
That generational shift may ultimately determine whether Saks’ gamble pays off. If younger luxury shoppers are comfortable browsing Balmain and Dolce & Gabbana on the same device they use to order Uber Eats, the old stigmas around Amazon could fade.
Still, there is a risk that luxury becomes even more transactional, reduced to the swipe of a finger instead of the whisper of a well-trained personal shopper. As Saks and Amazon navigate this new territory, the broader luxury sector will be watching closely. And as Zarrella poignantly observed, “Much of old-school luxury — the kind that was so glamorous, lush and exquisite that everyone understood it, many craved it and few could have it — is beyond repair.”
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