In this era of scarcity of time, the first thing that always gets postponed is shopping. You are under time pressure to finish shopping in the quickest possible time because several other things need your attention. Time pressure at one hand and hundreds of options at the other and with so many lucrative deals, you start buying everything that comes in your way. Above all, you don’t know what’s the latest trend and launches in a particular product category. A personal shopper is here to solve all your shopping challenges.
Imagine anything, and your personal shopper will get that for you quickly at a very competitive rate. A personal shopper isn’t a new species of the service industry. They were there always, but for elite and celebrities. Thanks to the rising income of middle and upper-middle-income groups aided by time scarcity, personal shoppers are now available everywhere to assist this group to shop anything from anywhere.
Most of the major retailers employ personal shoppers to assist customers so that they could seek help from domain expert personal shoppers. The whole idea is to help customers in product selection, speedy decision making and above all save money to build a long-term relationship. Although, personal shoppers are mostly linked to the fashion industry, in recent years they are now serving all product domains to help clients make better decisions in the quickest possible time.
Call them stylist or image consultant, but the core is to help you save your time, energy and of course the money. When it comes to elite or celebrity clients they face challenges of time, privacy and security. They need someone who is an expert in fashion or styling and could do shopping on his/her behalf. They brief the personal shopper about mood, test, styling, current wardrobe, and requirements. Good personal shoppers’ take note of every possible detail and suggest inputs regarding fashion trends and suitability. Once the requirements are finalized s/he shops for the client at the most suitable place and arranges trial either at the store or at home.
Personal shoppers, nowadays earn a handsome amount of money. If we go by earning stats, a personal shopper earns an average of $30,000 to $40,000 per year by working 4-5 hours a day for 5 days a week. If you have above-average knowledge or interest in any specific domain you can be a personal shopper in that particular domain. Thankfully, you don’t need any professional degree to start a personal shopper, but you need to have a good understanding of the subject matter and excellent communication skills.
Personal Shopper Can Buy Anything for You
The name itself says it all. A personal shopper impersonates you and carries your mind and need while shopping for you. It is all up to you to add anything in your shopping list and your personal shopper will get the best product with his/her expert inputs for you at most affordable prices. Since they are regular in any retail store; they get special treatment and deals from retailers. Your personal shopper will pass on those benefits to you. Here are some of the most popular product ranges where a personal shopper could be of great help:
Fashion & Style
We all want to look great and contemporary. Your selection of fashion and style helps you build the desired persona to lead a confident life. In the era of hyper-competitive professionalism, you simply cannot ignore your look. The best strategy is to hire a personal shopper and get his expert advice on the latest fashion and styles.
Brief him about your personality, temperament, and demand of the occasion. With primary inputs, s/he will review your existing collection and prepare the shopping list. S/he will discuss the budget and deliverables so that you could get the best product in the defined time. All you need to do is open about your brief so that you could get what you want.
Give your personal shopper some flexibility and freedom in product selection. This will amaze you how effective those small inputs could be in enhancing your fashion quotient.
Jewelry & Accessories
It is very tough to keep a tab on the jewelry and accessories trends. By the time you will see that in the mainstream it would be too late to have the edge of exclusivity. Your personal shopper could help you get the latest jewelry and accessories to match your personality. You can leverage his exposure and depth in product range in selection the best for yourself.
Image Consultancy
You have a vast collection of clothes and matching accessories. You purchased everything that came in your way in the hope of using it for the right occasion. But nothing worked as you wished or expected. Your personal shopper could be your image consultant, as s/he sees you from a different perspective and suggest measures to enhance the image.
It is not just about buying the best but buying the suitably best. He will offer several colors, contrast, match, fitting, adjustments and modification tips to improve your overall look. He may be of great help in your hairstyle and makeup as he has your imaginary personality in mind.
Gifts
We all know how confusing it becomes to shop something to gift. It is relatively easy to buy something for self, but something for someone for a special occasion is a bit tricky as you don’t want to be contextually unfit. Your personal shopper could be of great help in shopping gifts for anyone you wish. The exposure to products and understanding of the pulse of fashion and style gives them an edge in selecting the best for your loved ones.
Electronics
It is one of the fastest evolving product categories where personal shoppers are making a huge difference. You want to buy the latest gadgets, but you don’t have time and energy to explore and get the best.
Frankly, we use and love electronics without knowing much about the product. You personal shopper knows everything possible about any specific product, so you get the best that suits your need and budget. Interestingly, he will let you know whether you should wait for a while as he all the launch schedules in his memory.
Groceries
You can postpone fashion, electronics or any other shopping, but not the groceries. Thankfully, several personal shoppers offer amazingly quick service to shop groceries for you. Just let him know about your shopping list, he will get that for you in the quickest possible time. Several personal shoppers pay special attention to elderly and disabled persons and offer then discount.
How to Hire Best Personal Shopper
There is no doubt that personal shopper could be of great value in terms of saving time, energy and money. But, you need to be a little careful while hiring a personal shopper. Here are some of the things you need to keep in mind while hiring personal shopper:
Expertise
You are hiring some for his better understanding of the particular product category. So, make sure that your personal shopper has deep knowledge of the subject matter to offer you the most advanced shopping experience. If you want a personal shopper for fashion and style, make sure that the person good exposure to the fashion industry and has the most updated information.
Availability
You are hiring someone only because you don’t have time for shopping. So, make sure that your personal shopper is available for your defined time range. Do enquire about flexibility as shopping requires flexibility in time.
Network
A personal shopper must have a strong and reliable network so that the trial could be arranged in flexible hours. If your PS has a good network, he will get access to new stocks and trends. This is of great value if you are looking for exclusivity.
Privacy
A personal shopper gets access to your private life as you are required to open up about your taste, beliefs, and limitations. You have to make sure that your PS is reliable and has strong industry goodwill.
Clientele
If your personal shopper is experienced do ask about the client list. However, avoid asking a personal question about clients. You will get enough hints to analyze the strength and weaknesses of your personal shopper by going through the client list.
Cost
This is the area that bothers people the most. People prefer paying extra for the product, but not to the person who could help in getting good deals, not just once but every time. You know your hourly rate and how much time you can waste in shopping. Isn’t it simple math? Your personal shopper will come at a fraction of your hourly rate with value addition of expertise, advice, and of course better deals.
Your personal shopper is an expert in a particular product category. You can hire a professional personal shopper service provider to meet all your needs as they keep experts in all possible product categories. They offer you operational and accountability advantages. Nowadays, personal shoppers are well equipped with high-end tech support to make it easier to build a shopping list and get the product delivered in no time. Hire a professional shopper and enjoy your moments!