42 | APRIL 1 • 2021 

A

riana Carps, man-
ager and buyer of 
Bloomfield Hills-
based clothing store Rear 
Ends, has joined a new tech-
nology platform that offers 
customers throughout the 
U.S. virtual shopping expe-
riences.
Selected to be featured in 
a beta version of Amazon 
Explore, a new program 
from e-commerce giant 
Amazon that offers virtual 
experiences encompassing 
travel, cooking, learning and 
everything in between, Rear 
Ends can now be shopped 
by anyone, anywhere in the 
country.
Customers on Amazon 
Explore can select to shop 

Rear Ends, getting a live vir-
tual tour of the store and its 
merchandise. 
 “It’s a 30-minute session,” 
Carps, 36, of Berkley, says. 
“There’s a $10 fee for the 
session, but you get it back 
through purchase credits 
with anything you buy.”
Carps walks around the 
store with a one-way video 
selfie stick provided by 
Amazon that allows custom-
ers to see what’s available. 
She can recommend cloth-
ing, sizes, custom outfits and 
more. It’s a fully personalized 
experience that can help 
local retail stores like Rear 
Ends go national.
“It allows customers all 
over the country to shop 

with us,” says Carps. “It’s 
the same personal shopping 
experience we’ve offered to 
our customers for nearly 43 
years, but in a totally differ-
ent, digital way.”
Longtime family-owned 
Rear Ends launched on 
Amazon Explore in late 
February. Prior to that, 
Amazon reached out to 
Carps with interest in fea-
turing the store, which she 
agreed to. It took a little over 
two months to set up the 
process and get Rear Ends 
ready for virtual shopping. 
“I’m totally wireless as I 
walk around,” Carps says. “I 
start by pulling from a great 
selection of jeans and just 
showcasing designs and price 
ranges.”
From there, she says, cus-
tomers can guide her toward 
what they’re looking for and 
add items like sweaters, tops 
and more to go with their 

jeans, the highlight of the 
store’s selection.
Carps says Amazon 
Explore has given the store 
a new opportunity to reach 
customers in different states, 
backed by the safety of 
Amazon. “I know I’m trust-
worthy, and my customers 
know I’m trustworthy,” she 
explains. “But a stranger 
in another city might not.” 
Having that added layer of 
security, she describes, helps 
both customers and retailers 
feel safe in their transactions.
“This allows people to 
shop at a store they might 
not know,” Carps says of 
Amazon Explore. Working 
with the retail giant was her 
first venture into the corpo-
rate world, which she says 
was an enjoyable experience. 
“It was eye-opening for me 
going through the whole pro-
cess and seeing how they do 
things. It was really cool.” 
Rear Ends clothing store of
 ers
one-on-one video shopping online.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

High-Tech 
Shopping

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REAR ENDS. 

things. It was really cool.” 

Ariana Carps 
streaming through 
Amazon Explore.

BUSINESS

