By Nikita Sachdev
In recent years, technology has become our best friend. Confused about what to wear? Help is just a click away or present on your phone in the form of an app. With this great outreach of technology, retailers have found a tool to gather information about the way people shop. This is referred to as ‘personal shopping’ and its turned into a trend that has helped fashion businesses as well as customers immensely.
Personal Shopping (Image Courtesy : Printemps)
So how does it function? Personal shopping is a service offered by several brands. It helps shoppers track down the exact item they require. The personal shopping team can also provide advice about a certain item and its fit, or what shoes to pair with your outfit. The team/ app not only offers guidance but can also organise a one-on-one fitting session with the designer. It’s as simple as making a call and telling the personal shopper what you’re looking for and they gather the best pieces for your trial.
Personal shopping does not end with providing styling advice. A client can request the shopper to create a shopping list for a festival, for instance you could ask for a customised list for Diwali or a wedding. Regular clients are also invited to special events and runway shows where they can directly interact with designers.
Personal Consultation (Image Courtesy : Apparel Resources)
Why has personal shopping taken over the world of retail and fashion? Personal shopping is conquering the world of luxury brands because it has made shopping easier for the customers and increased their loyalty towards a brand. From the brand’s perspective, it has been beneficial in terms of increasing sales by influencing the shopper as they now put more products in front of the prospective client and provide personal attention, which results in the the client’s proclivity to make more impulse based purchases.
The trend has helped retailers understand customers better by forming a personal relationship with them and getting to know their needs. It has also made products more accessible. For instance, you could be sitting in India but interested in a product that is exclusively available in a brand’s American store. But now geography is irrelevant. The product will be sent across to you for you to look at it and experience before making a purchasing decision.
Personal shopping services (Image Courtesy : Desja Chanel Boutique)
A shopper can now put together the perfect outfit without much effort and without running from one store to another. Equally, personalised shopping translates to sales, sales and more sales since the retailer has the power to influence the customer into impulsive purchasing. For example, if a customer sets out to buy a dress, the personal shopping team can turn it into a complete outfit with shoes and accessories.
During a personal shopping appointment in a store, the client would be taken through a wider range of products and collections than usual. And while one-on-one personal shopping is definitely seeing a spike, it’s the online shopping space that is benefiting most from this trend.
