How does it sound to check off shopping lists for a living? Whether hired directly by clients or employed by retail stores, it takes a unique set of skills to work as a Personal Shopper. You must understand your clients’ needs, styles and budgets and help them source the items on their lists, from clothi... Continue Reading
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Explore Career How does it sound to check off shopping lists for a living? Whether hired directly by clients or employed by retail stores, it takes a unique set of skills to work as a Personal Shopper. You must understand your clients’ needs, styles and budgets and help them source the items on their lists, from clothing, footwear and accessories to daily groceries and furniture. Personal Shoppers assist clients who may be too busy or unable to shop or prefer someone else to do it for them or guide them as they make their choices.
What are the typical responsibilities of a Personal Shopper?
A Personal Shopper would typically need to:
Where Personal Shoppers work depends on whom they work for and the kind of service they provide. However, they report to a store manager or client in all situations.
When working directly for clients, Personal Shoppers may set up meetings in their private offices, shared workspaces or clients’ homes at their clients’ convenience to discuss and understand their needs, preferences, styles, budgets and timelines or offer counsel on their wardrobes. Following the meeting, Personal Shoppers visit stores to explore and buy the goods clients request.
Travel is part of a Personal Shopper’s job as they must commute to clients’ homes for initial consultations, if required, then to stores to buy, exchange or return goods, and to clients’ homes or offices to deliver the purchased goods. You may also attend product promotions and exhibitions and fashion shows.
You may deliver consultations only via phone or video calls, or email, followed by online shopping services, or blend them as needed with face-to-face meetings and in-store shopping.
Personal Shoppers could also work in retail outlets, such as department stores and boutiques, where they spend the bulk of their time serving clients within the store or in private styling rooms according to the items that need to be bought. They may need to visit the storage spaces to source or replace items.
Whether you work directly for a private client or a store, you may expect to be on your feet much of the time, walking between and within stores and servicing various clients. The environment is fast-paced and stressful, particularly during sales and holiday seasons. It requires you to be at ease building relationships with clients by having conversations online, on the phone or via email to understand their requirements.
You must present a neat and professional appearance when meeting clients. Use footwear that allows you to stand and walk for extended periods. It would help if you also had the stamina and strength to carry heavy shopping bags within stores, to parking lots or on public transport to your clients’ homes or offices, depending on the nature of your work.
Personal Shoppers working for private clients typically keep irregular hours and have varying daily schedules depending on their clients’ availability and requirements. To an extent, you may have the flexibility to set your hours as long as you keep yourself free to work evenings or on weekends and holidays, factoring in your clients’ schedules in case you need to meet with them in person or online. Helping clients prepare for special events may require you to meet tight deadlines.
While you can shop in person only during store opening hours, you can shop online anytime. You will typically divide your time between speaking with clients, researching product availability and prices in stores and online, placing orders and visiting stores to buy items for their clients. Personal Shoppers must devote adequate time to fostering clients’ trust and engaging with sales personnel in retail stores to deliver optimal services.
If you work for a store, you will likely follow a more structured schedule matching store timings. However, you may need to put in extra hours to cater to suit the schedules of high-end customers.
Research suggests that flexible hours and generous telework policies appeal more than salary to the younger generation. There has been an incremental increase in employers willing to give promising employees a chance to adjust their schedules per the job demands.
Finding a new job might seem challenging. Personal Shoppers can boost their job search by asking their network and other Personal Shoppers for referrals, contacting companies or potential private clients directly, using job search platforms, going to job fairs, leveraging social media and inquiring at staffing agencies. Other resources include fashion school websites, online forums, client/customer reviews and word-of-mouth referrals.
You may work on an independent contractor basis for clients or their stylists or for retail stores and boutiques that offer personalised services to customers in addition to those provided by regular sales personnel.
Personal Shoppers are generally employed by:
Professional associations and organisations, such as The Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) or the International Association of Professional Personal Shoppers (IAPO), are crucial for Personal Shoppers interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation.
Professional associations provide their members with various continuing education and networking opportunities, and mentorship services. Membership in one or more adds value to your resume while bolstering your credentials and qualifications.
Since personal shopping is a new career path, few defined routes exist. Summer internships, part-time work at an entry-level position or short-term paid/voluntary work in sales positions in retail stores, particularly those selling fashion and beauty products, and in any customer-facing roles offer a taste of the career. They also give valuable insight into how the fashion or lifestyle industries and retail businesses operate, help build useful contacts and improve one’s prospects of getting a permanent job or launching one’s own business.
The experience may also help determine whether the public, private or voluntary sector is best suited to realise one’s ambitions. Your educational provider’s career service department can provide information about viable opportunities for work placements, internships and voluntary work in diverse sectors.
You may find yourself working for a few months without payment or work shadowing an experienced Personal Shopper to learn the ropes and gain experience. You can also practise your skills with a family member or a friend to learn how to analyse a client’s wardrobe and make suitable improvements. Reading magazines and browsing the internet or following social media influencers are other ways to help you learn about the latest products and give you experience in evaluating them.
Retail experience in stores and boutiques helps you develop or refine critical skills, such as communication and interaction with diverse clients, and build knowledge of brands, products and customer behaviour. You could even begin your career in an entry-level job, such as a retail assistant who takes bookings for customers wishing to use personal shopping services at your store. Some aspiring Personal Shoppers come into the field with managerial or entrepreneurial experience that builds transferable skills in finance, accounting, marketing, advertising and business software.
Make sure to build a portfolio of your successful projects and referrals from past or current clients to present to prospective employers and clients.
Even while in high school, you can check with a teacher or counsellor about relevant work-based learning opportunities available in your school or community that can help you connect your school experiences with real-life work.
Join some groups, try some hobbies or volunteer with an organisation of interest, so you can have fun while learning about yourself and be directed toward a future career.
Read about the profession and interview or job shadow experts working in personal shopping to prove your commitment to course providers and prospective employers.
Personal Shoppers must typically possess a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent. However, since they cater to clients from diverse backgrounds and help them buy a range of products, there are no specific higher academic qualifications that lead to the career.
If you wish to specialise in a particular genre of goods, it is useful to study the specific industry in depth or acquire skills relevant to it. For instance, clients seeking services in buying clothes may prefer hiring Personal Shoppers who have a degree in fashion management or design and understand fashion industry trends.
An online or in-person course in running small businesses or a bachelor’s or associate degree in business administration is helpful if you plan to be self-employed and also gives you a competitive edge when seeking jobs in retail outlets. A degree in communications can be beneficial since effective client interaction and managing social media to market your services as well as follow or collaborate with influencers are important to succeed as a Personal Shopper.
Certificate or diploma courses at local community or technical colleges or online in areas such as fashion merchandising, design, consumer science, sales, marketing, retail business management, financial management and budgeting can help you build the skills and knowledge needed to land entry-level jobs and progress in your career. Take courses in desktop publishing to create your business cards and promotional material and gain proficiency in business software.
You may also pursue professional certifications in image consulting or similar areas to add credibility to your profile.
Aspiring Personal Shoppers would do well to take high school courses in mathematics, business, economics, accounting, psychology, foreign languages and theatre. English and speech classes will help you develop your research, writing and oral communication skills.
Remember that completing a particular academic course does not guarantee entry into the profession. Be that as it may, professional qualifications and transferable skills may open up more than one door.
Do your homework and look into all available options for education and employment before enrolling in a specific programme. Reliable sources that help you make an educated decision include associations and employers in your field.
Certification in relevant areas, such as fashion or wardrobe styling, image consultancy, personal shopping, or client services and communication, demonstrates a Personal Shopper’s competence in a skill set, typically through work experience, training, and passing an examination. Keep in mind that certification requirements and processes differ from region to region. When acquired from an objective and reputed organisation, certification can help you stand out in a competitive job market and carry a significant salary premium of up to 18 per cent. Successful certification programs protect public welfare by incorporating a Code of Ethics.
Certification by the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) requires candidates to pass an online exam that tests them on fashion trends and the communication skills to use in a personal shopping setting. On passing the exam, they must submit an online portfolio detailing their work and support it with client assessments. Certification is granted on approval of the portfolio. Other options include relevant master certifications offered by the International Association of Professions (IAP) Career College and the Private Client Professional Certification provided by the Luxury Institute.
When choosing a certification program, it is vital to research the options and opt for one that aligns with your background, goals and interests as a Personal Shopper and matches your budget and availability in terms of cost and duration. Make sure to check for revalidation criteria and fulfil them periodically.
Typically, licensure requires an application, processing fees, an examination, and relevant education and experience. Check with local or national authorities whether you need licensure and how to obtain it.
Personal Shoppers may also need to undergo an employment background check, including but not limited to a person’s work history, education, credit history, motor vehicle reports (MVRs), criminal record, medical history, use of social media, and drug screening.
Career progression for Personal Shoppers depends on their employers and the nature and level of service they provide.
If you are self-employed and work directly with clients, you can advance by specialising in a certain category of clients in terms of age, size or style, or you could cater to particular occasions, such as weddings and red-carpet events. You could also move to a bigger city with more opportunities to establish a larger clientele by providing more affordable services in addition to catering to high-end clients.
It helps to be on good terms with store managers to learn of new arrivals from them at the earliest. It is also useful to explore which advertising channels popular Personal Shoppers use to market their services so that you can choose those best suited to your expertise.
If you wish to switch to a steady job, having acquired freelance experience and established a good reputation, you may join high-end stores that sell luxury goods and offer personal shopping or stylising services. Media producers and photographers may also hire you as stylists for their projects.
You could also opt for a blend of in-person and virtual styling and wardrobe consultations, making your services accessible to a wider audience who might live in remote areas.
If you work for a store, your performance, experience, and the acquisition of professional qualifications would drive career progression. Employees with consistently high levels of performance may be eligible for promotion every two to three years.
Once you establish a trustworthy reputation and a clientele that seeks your services, you may advance to Senior Stylist or Senior Personal Shopper, roles in which you will manage a team of Personal Shoppers and stylists and mentor new hires. Further advancement once you prove your worth to the business would make you Department Head or Manager in charge of daily operations and staff.
With extensive knowledge of fashion trends and a name in the industry, Personal Shoppers who deal with fashion products and cosmetics may become Fashion or Image Consultants or Style Coaches and also earn relevant certifications. You may provide consultancy services to fashion brands and retailers on how to expand or enhance their product lines to suit popular demand and the most effective marketing strategies to sell them. Diversifying into retail buying and merchandising is also a possibility.
With adequate experience in retail stores and a strong business sense, you could launch your own business and take up freelance assignments with clients directly or by joining several stores or a mix of both. While your income may be erratic to begin with, once you establish a robust reputation and clientele, you can charge your own fees.
The desire to accelerate career growth and personal development has an increasing number of millennials choosing to job hop and build a scattershot resume that showcases ambition, motivation, and the desire to learn a broad range of skills.
Studies prove that job hopping, earlier dismissed as “flaky” behaviour, can lead to greater job fulfilment. Employees searching for a positive culture and interesting work are willing to try out various roles and workplaces and learn valuable, transferable skills along the way.
Candidates with excellent interpersonal and communication skills, awareness of the latest products in the market and fashion trends, and experience in retail sales or customer-facing roles have the best job prospects. A degree in fashion, business management or communications and certifications in areas such as image consultancy and style coaching will give you a competitive edge in the job market.
Although experience in retail stores and customer-facing roles is beneficial, newly hired Personal Shoppers typically also receive structured on-the-job training, in person or online, to learn their store’s layout, products, policies, payment procedures and preferred customer interaction methods. Your employer may also encourage you to pursue college courses if you do not possess a relevant degree. You may also opt for relevant certifications, such as in image consultancy or style coaching, to develop your skills and knowledge and boost your chances of career advancement.
Continuing professional development (CPD) will help an active Personal Shopper build personal skills and proficiency through work-based learning, a professional activity, formal education, or self-directed learning.
In addition to offering the opportunity to continually upskill, regardless of one’s age, job, or level of knowledge, CPD also enables the periodic renewal of desirable certifications, which increase your chances of advancement and becoming an independent consultant.
Networking with fashion designers, makeup artists, store managers and other industry professionals helps you learn about industry trends and find job opportunities. Reading relevant magazines, following the social media pages of influencers, carrying out independent research by browsing the internet, particularly company or store websites, reading customer reviews and periodic window shopping help you stay current with constantly changing fashion trends and new products in the market, which is critical to your optimally fulfilling clients’ requirements.
Take online or in-person courses in customer service, sales techniques, social media marketing and influencer collaboration, fashion and luxury brands, cultural diversity, business, accounting, sales and marketing, communication and sustainable approaches to fashion.
Areas Where Personal Shoppers Offer Services
Fashion: A common area of expertise for Personal Shoppers is fashion clothing, footwear and accessories.
Beauty: Skincare and haircare products and other cosmetics or beauty products need informed choices. Personal Shoppers must build enough knowledge to help clients decide what suits their skin and hair type, aspirations and budget.
Grocery shopping: Personal Assistants may not need specialised skills to work in a grocery store, but they may undertake frequent shopping trips for clients who are too busy or unable to do so.
Home wear: If interior design is your forte, you can specialise in choosing and buying elegant pieces for your clients’ homes or office spaces.
Gardening: Some Personal Shoppers buy plants to help clients renovate their gardens or decorate their office or living spaces.
Some Types of Private Clients
Personal Shoppers may work directly for a range of private clients, such as celebrities and professionals who earn well and keep busy schedules. They may also work for those who have joined new jobs that require formal dress or for company executives seeking to buy holiday gifts for their staff. The elderly or those with disabilities may also hire Personal Shoppers.
How Do Personal Shoppers Get Paid?
Personal Shoppers may charge fees by the hour and may track their time weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Or you may receive a fixed monthly retainer fee if your client hires you on a monthly retainer basis, allowing them to use your services at any point during the agreed-upon period and per established terms.
You may send quotes or invoices to your clients to demonstrate your professionalism and make it simpler for you to monitor your finances. Automated reminders to your clients help ensure timely payments streamline the process. Some clients appreciate being able to pay you via their cards, for which you will likely have to use a portable credit card reader.
A job at a retail store earns you a fixed salary with a commission on the products you sell. But independent Personal Shoppers not connected with stores or brands have more flexibility. Since they directly bill their client, they can charge varying fees depending on their services, which could be hourly, a flat rate or a package of several sessions.
Personal Shoppers vs Mystery Shoppers
Mystery Shoppers are different from Personal Shoppers as companies hire them to shop anonymously to evaluate the quality of service the retail staff provides and observe employee and customer behaviour. Personal Shoppers typically interact and work directly with clients to help them fulfil their shopping requirements, while mystery shoppers carry out evaluations without revealing their identity. Mystery Shoppers may also visit restaurants to evaluate their service and food quality. However, both roles require top-notch communication, interpersonal skills and awareness of trends.
Fast Fashion: Its Negative Impact and What Consumers Can Do to Limit It
The relatively rapid design, production, distribution and marketing of low-cost but trendy garments, often deriving inspiration from high-quality fashionwear but using cheap and synthetic materials, such as polyester, and energy-intensive processes, is known as fast fashion. It thrives on delivering thousands of styles with a short turnaround time between appearing on the catwalk or in celebrity circles and becoming available on the shelves.
Other features include offshore manufacturing in regions with cheap labour supply and often producing limited quantities of each style to make the consumer dash it but then discard the garments after a few uses due to wear and tear or because they are no longer in fashion. Fast fashion thus leads to overproduction, overconsumption and wastage.
The major downside of fast fashion is its negative environmental impact from pollution. For instance, it typically uses cheap and toxic textile dyes that lead to water pollution.
It also contributes to global warming by using materials derived from fossil fuels. Such materials may shed microfibres, which raise the levels of microplastics in oceans each time the clothes are washed. Even cotton requires extensive use of water, which can strain the resources of developing countries, and large amounts of pesticide.
Worker exploitation, sweatshops, child labour, harm to animals and encouraging consumers to engage in a throw-away culture are other negative impacts of fast fashion. Some designers also question it on intellectual property grounds.
Relatively sustainable fabric options include wild silk, organic cotton, linen, hemp and lyocell. Labels on clothing offer critical information to consumers about the materials used and how to care for them, which can help them make ethical purchasing choices and help them reduce environmental damage.
Some ways to reduce the impact of the clothing industry on the environment include buying less, making clothes last longer by repurposing or restyling them, mending them and following care instructions, choosing garments and brands that use high-quality and eco-friendly fabrics and processes, shopping secondhand, and finally recycling them.
Current Scenario
The employment outlook of a particular profession may be impacted by diverse factors, such as the time of year (for seasonal jobs), location, employment turnover (when people leave current jobs), occupational growth (when new roles are created), size of the occupation, and industry-specific trends and events that affect overall employment.
Despite the recent increase in online shopping due to the pandemic, the projected employment growth rate over the next few years is 7 to 10 per cent, faster than the average for all occupations. Given that it is a relatively new career, aspiring Personal Shoppers must be aware of the risks involved, especially since there is limited research about it and relevant professional organisations are not commonly found.
Furthermore, with more and more online shopping opportunities, prompt doorstep delivery and similar conveniences, Personal Shoppers may offer online consultations to help clients with online purchases. Building a clientele may require Personal Shoppers to expand their range of services by including facilities such as professional organising, which are becoming popular.
Along with Personal Shoppers, similar roles gaining interest include personal assistants and concierges, who run errands for clients, and virtual assistants who provide professional services online to businesses.
Potential Pros & Cons of Freelancing vs Full-Time Employment
Freelancing Personal Shoppers have more flexible work schedules and locations. They fully own the business and can select their projects and clients. However, they experience inconsistent work and cash flow, which means more responsibility, effort and risk.
On the other hand, full-time Personal Shoppers have company-sponsored health benefits, insurance, and retirement plans. They have job security with a fixed, reliable source of income and guidance from their bosses. Yet, they may experience boredom due to a lack of flexibility, ownership, and variety.
When deciding between freelancing or being a full-time employee, consider the pros and cons to see what works best for you.
Your awareness of new products in the market, from haute couture to daily necessities, your love to interact with people and understand their needs, your organisational skills and your resourcefulness all converge in your work as a Personal Shopper. Not only do you help your clients save time, money and energy by tracking down high-quality deals that match their requirements, but you also give them confidence and a better work-life balance. The bonus is that you get to window shop and shop - and get paid for doing so.
Build relationships with helpful and cheerful salespeople at stores since you will need their assistance frequently to fulfil your client’s shopping requirements. If your clients need your help overhauling their entire image, connect with their makeup artists and hair stylists. You may want to use a loyalty program to reward and encourage current customers and attract new ones.
Circular fashion aims to minimise waste and pollution by producing clothes and personal products using sustainable materials and processes, maximising their usage and eventually repurposing them.
What do Personal Shoppers do?
A Personal Shopper would typically need to:
Accredited
$56,040
