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