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Personal shopping is an occupation in which people help others shop by giving advice and making suggestions. Personal shoppers are often employed by department stores and boutiques, though some work freelance or exclusively online, and their focus is usually clothes. A personal shopper gives a customer focused, individual attention: advice on what is in fashion, help deciding what looks good on them, an outfit for a particular occasion or a whole wardrobe for a season, and services such as color analysis showing which colors suit the customer best.
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According to Wikipedia, personal shopping is an occupation where people help others shop by giving advice and making suggestions to customers. They are often employed by department stores and boutiques and (although some work freelance or work exclusively online). Their focus is usually on clothes, although the number of non-clothing stores such as furniture retailers that offer personal shopping services is on the rise, and many freelance personal shoppers will help customers shop for whatever item they happen to be after.
A personal shopper will give the customer focused and individual attention, and will advise the customer of what is in fashion, help the customer decide what looks good on them, or assist in picking out an outfit for a particular occasion or even an entire wardrobe for a particular season. They will often conduct other services such as a color analysis, enabling the customer to better understand which colors suit them best, or which colors should be worn for which seasons.
A personal shopper is typically employed by the store itself, which means that payment for the service is not required (only the items bought). Other stores will charge a small fee to use their personal shoppers. Only large department stores, such as Bloomingdale's, Debenhams, Neiman Marcus, and Macy's generally offer personal shopper services.
Personal shoppers are also known as fashion stylists (or shop assistants, or sales assistants). There are also quite a few who work independent of any affiliation with any stores and can be found in large cities such as New York City, London, and Boston. Outside of agencies, personal shoppers can be found on auction websites such as eBay where they auction their services to obtain customized items such as men and women's clothing collections. Some hotels offer personal shopper services to guests as well.
This fashion term was written for Apparel Search by
Regina Cooper July 2010. We have you have enjoyed learning the
meaning of a personal shopper.
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The service is defined by individual attention. Instead of browsing racks alone, the customer gets a guided session built around their body, coloring, occasion and budget: what is in fashion now, what actually looks good on them, and how pieces combine into outfits or a seasonal wardrobe. Color analysis is a typical starting point because it narrows every later choice — which colors suit the customer, and which suit which seasons.
Store-employed shoppers are part of the department store's service offer, which is why the large stores dominate the field. Freelance and online shoppers work independently of any single store, so their advice can range across retailers; agencies place shoppers in big cities, auction sites let shoppers bid for customized work, and hotels extend the service to traveling guests. In every setting the job is the same: focused advice that turns shopping from searching into selecting. This fashion term was written for Apparel Search by Regina Cooper in July 2010.
A personal shopper employed by the store itself is typically a service the store provides, so payment for the service is not required — only for the items bought. Other stores charge a small fee for using their personal shoppers.
Generally only large department stores offer the service — Bloomingdale's, Debenhams, Neiman Marcus and Macy's are the examples given. Independent personal shoppers can be found in large cities such as New York City, London and Boston, and some hotels offer the service to guests.
Personal shoppers also perform color analysis, help with non-clothing purchases (furniture retailers increasingly offer the service), and sell customized shopping help through auction websites for items such as men's and women's clothing collections. They are also known as fashion stylists, shop assistants or sales assistants.