A retail advisor who meets clients by appointment, learns their taste and budget, and chooses pieces for them across a store.
Department stores offer personal shopping as a service. At Selfridges in London, personal shoppers work with clients in private suites, or by video or phone call, to update their style and find gifts. Harrods describes its personal shoppers working one-to-one with its most loyal clients to understand their style, lifestyle and preferences, and helping them choose items that suit their needs and budget, from fashion and jewelry to housewares and furniture; a personal shopping manager coordinates the appointments.
That breadth is the difference from a client advisor in a house’s boutique, who sells one house’s collections; a department store’s personal shopper chooses across departments. Nor is the role the stylist of a fashion shoot, whom the UK National Careers Service describes as preparing clothes, accessories and models on set to a photographer’s or art director’s brief. Selfridges lists fashion styling as a separate service.
In job listings
Personal shopper titles come mostly from department stores and multi-brand online retailers; some are paid on commission and ask for an established client book. At houses, the same one-to-one work usually falls to client advisors, and boutique managers are asked to build ties with outside personal shoppers who bring clients. See current personal shopper roles.
