How to Be a Personal Shopper | The Art of Knowing How To Sell!

Learning how to be a personal shopper involves acquiring a series of skills for selecting clothes and accessories that align with the style and needs of each client. In the modern world, time and efficiency are essential, which is why the role of the personal shopper has positioned itself as an invaluable resource for those looking to optimize their shopping experience.

In this sense, the demand for personal shoppers has grown significantly due to the convenience of having someone manage the purchases. In this way, a personal shopper must be aligned with new trends to constantly improve their service capacity. In this article, we teach you how to be a successful personal shopper, you will learn from what you need to what tools to use!

Personal shopper job: what is it?

A personal shopper is a professional in charge of advising a person or company on the purchase of a product or service. A personal shopper is someone who helps individuals who cannot go shopping due to lack of time. Therefore, a personal shopper can work in different areas depending on their taste for fashion and shopping.

Now, when researching how to become a personal shopper, we find some requirements, which is why it is necessary to have specific training depending on the area of execution. For example, to become a fashion personal shopper, you must know image consulting, how the fashion industry works, and the latest trends.

In addition, personal shoppers carry out tasks for their clients, which involves managing time and money and solving situations such as returns, exchanges or repairs. So, to be a good shopper you must know the client, identify their needs generate emotions and gain their trust.

What does it take to be a personal shopper?

If you are looking for how to become a personal shopper, it is important to keep in mind that you must have basic knowledge in the area of negotiation, finance and industry, that is, specialize. In some cases, it will be necessary to study a professional career to provide a better service, as is the case of image consulting. However, the essential requirements for those looking to work as a shopper are:

• Be eloquent and discursive to efficiently manage personal relationships.
• Have an excellent presentation, image and portfolio to attract more clients.
• Know the area in which you work; a personal shopper usually specializes in fashion, home and leisure.
• Be able to listen carefully to capture the client’s ideas and satisfy their needs in each purchase.
• Know the town, the stores, shops, prestigious brands and other places to make purchases.
• Manage confidentiality standards for greater peace of mind for clients.
• Have good taste and be selective according to the client’s requirements and area of specialization.
• Have a support network with professionals in the same sector to stay up to date with new trends.

What services does a personal shopper offer?

One of the details you should keep in mind if you are thinking about how to become a personal shopper is the versatility of the services you offer to clients. Therefore, below we leave you a list of the most common services you can offer to stand out:

• Fashion and style consulting: Helps clients choose clothing items that fit their personal style, body type and budget.
• Wardrobe Refresh: A personal shopper evaluates a client’s current wardrobe to make recommendations on what to keep, donate or replace.
• Purchasing Clothing and Accessories: Makes purchases of clothing and accessories on behalf of the client.
• Outfit Customization: Create looks for different occasions, from events to everyday wear.
• Gift Shopping: The personal shopper selects and purchases gifts for any occasion, ensuring that they are suitable for the customer.
• Shopping support: Accompany the customer during their purchases to offer advice and opinions in real-time.
• Closet Organization: Helps organize the client’s closet.
• Beauty and personal care advice: Recommends beauty products that suit the client’s needs and preferences.
• Online shopping management: A personal shopper makes online purchases and monitors the process from search to delivery. He or she also keeps an eye on offers and discounts.
• Home Goods Shopping: Assists in the selection of household items, highlighting functionality and style.

How much does a personal shopper charge?

Most people looking to become personal shoppers don’t know how much to charge for their work. Without a doubt, the cost of hiring a personal shopper can vary significantly when evaluating various factors such as geographic location, experience, duration of sessions, and the type of services offered.

In this regard, here is a general guide on how to charge for this service:

Hourly rate

• Beginners: $25-$50 per hour.
• With experience: between $50 and $150 per hour.
• High-end or exclusive clientele: $350 and $350 or more per hour.

Plans per session or package

• 2-3 hour session: $100-$300 for beginner personal shoppers and up to $600 or more for experienced shoppers.
• Half day between 4 to 5 hours: $200 and $500 for beginners and up to $1000 for experienced personal shoppers.
• Full 8-hour day: $400-$1000 for beginners and up to $2000 for experienced riders.

Monthly or subscription fees

The monthly rate can vary between $500 and $2000 or more depending on the hours and type of service included.

Specialized services

In this case, a personal shopper charges according to the specialized services offered in his or her portfolio. For example, wardrobe renovations can vary between $200 and $800 per session. While an image consultancy can cost between $100 and $500 per session.

How to make money as a personal shopper

Are you looking for how to become a personal shopper to earn money with this activity? Without a doubt, this can be a very lucrative activity if you focus on offering quality services and building a solid client base. Therefore, below, we will tell you some key steps to prosper in this profession and captivate your potential clients.

Acquire skills and knowledge

To learn how to be a personal shopper, investing in knowledge and training is essential. So make sure to take courses and certifications in fashion, style, image consulting, organization and other areas to improve your skills. Also, stay on top of the latest trends to offer updated and relevant recommendations.

Create a personal brand

Another step to take into account if you want to know how to be a successful personal shopper is the creation of your brand. In this case, we recommend developing a personal brand that shows your work and your essence to attract more clients from other people’s testimonials and the demonstration of your services.

It also strengthens the online presence by sharing fashion tips, closet organization, and tricks to find better discounts, among others.

Define your services and rates

If you want to learn how to be a personal shopper and offer excellent service, you need to be clear about what you want to offer the client and how much they should pay for it. So create a pricing structure, whether it’s hourly, per service package, or a flat rate. To do this, you can research your competitors’ prices to set realistic rates.

On the other hand, it offers personalized and specific services such as personal shopping, gift buying, fashion advice, organization, and wardrobe renewal, among others. You have to differentiate yourself from the competition, and add your personal touch!

Collaborate with other companies

Earning money as a personal shopper can be more profitable than you think. However, to be successful you will need to establish relationships with stores or boutiques and participate in fashion events or trade shows to meet potential customers. In addition, to strengthen your position in the market it is advisable to make alliances with brands to receive commissions or discounts for each new client you bring in.

As you gain recognition, you can ask your clients to provide testimonials and references to attract new audiences. You can also offer workshops and talks about the area you specialize in to increase your visibility and recognition.

Offer additional services

As we mentioned before, you need to stand out from the competition. For this reason, if you are learning how to be a successful personal shopper, you cannot miss this key step. Offering additional services allows you to increase the sales of tickets and attract your clients through variety and quality. So, you can include services such as online shopping or personal beauty advice, everything will depend on the area you choose to specialize in.

Make advertising and promotions

Making yourself known is an essential step in becoming a personal shopper. Make sure you use social media to reach your target audience through eye-catching advertising. In this case, you can also rely on promotions or special discounts to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Try session promotions or discounts for consistency!

Listen to your customers

Finally, one of the most important rewards when learning how to be a personal shopper is the willingness to continually improve. While it is necessary to keep up to date and adapt to new trends, you will achieve better results by collecting opinions and feedback from your clients. So, dedicate some time to analyze and listen to your clients’ recommendations and testimonials to improve your services daily.

12 technological tools for personal shoppers

You’re almost ready to become a successful personal shopper. So, take advantage of this list of useful tools to improve the efficiency, organization and quality of your service. Once you have your strategy organized, consider your must-haves for daily management. Let’s see what they are!

• Asana: This is an ideal application for managing projects, organizing tasks and shopping lists visually.
• Google Calendar: You can use it to schedule appointments and reminders for both your clients and for personal use.
• Pinterest: This is one of the best platforms to create inspiration boards and find styles for your clients.
• WhatsApp and Zoom: these are essential communication tools to maintain constant communication with clients and conduct virtual consultations and sessions.
• Intelistyle: This app will help you offer style recommendations using artificial intelligence.
• Canva: For creating content to draw on, take your time with easy-to-use content creation platforms packed with helpful resources.
• Google Forms: Obtaining information and opinions from your customers is important, with this application, you can create surveys and custom forms to collect data.
• Financial management platforms: In this case, we recommend keeping track and keeping your finances organized through platforms such as QuickBooks and FreshBooks.
• Tracking and logistics apps: This is one of the apps you can’t miss if you offer online shopping services. We recommend AfterShip and ParcelTrack to monitor shipments and deliveries.
• Online shopping platforms: If you want to be successful as a personal shopper, you should use platforms like Shopify and Farfetch to recommend products from online stores.
• Augmented reality apps: This is one of the most versatile apps currently, as thanks to artificial intelligence, customers can try on products virtually. We recommend Wannaby, YouCam Makeup and Zyler.

Final words

The role of a personal shopper has become essential in the fashion and retail industry, thanks to their ability to offer personalized services that save customers time. In addition, a personal shopper plays a significant role by using advanced tools to offer a high-quality service.

Without a doubt, their knowledge and ability to understand the needs and preferences of customers allow users to enjoy a stress-free shopping experience with satisfactory results. All this without even going to a store! So, if you want to become a personal shopper, make sure you tailor your shopping experience to the tastes and styles of each customer.