In general, people shop online because of its relatively fast process and convenience to the shopper. Women, specifically retired or career women usually shop online for other variable reasons in addition to these. They don’t have time to go walking through different stores and picking outfits for themselves. Some haven’t even had time to know how to style themselves, or know what kind of fashion they prefer. This may be the cause of spending most of their time on their career goals and current jobs, where not enough time is spent on strategizing a wardrobe for different occasions. So they need the kind of shopping that’s already been done for them.
My job? The company I work for has asked us not to state who we work for, as a confidentiality agreement for our clients. But my job description I can share. I basically log in to our own company-built database of clothing inventory, select five items according to each client’s body sizes and requests (either for clothing pieces or accessories), and then write a small paragraph of styling tips or notes for that specific client. After this styling process, those working inside the main headquarters commence the organization of our selections for each client, package it, and mail off that package to each client’s doorstep.
Throughout the 8 months I’ve worked in this stylist position, I’ve noticed a boom in new clients/users as well as a greater awareness for how many other companies provide a similar service as the company I work for. A couple examples of such companies are Stitch Fix, Le Tote, and True&Co.
However, some problems do arise from this kind of “hands-off” shopping experience. For instance, there is not always a 100% take rate. For every package of items shipped to each client, there is at least a 50% chance that they will not purchase 100% of the items in that package. And this may, in part, be caused by stylists choosing items for clients with more respect to their own clothing preferences instead of their client’s preferences. Even if the job is to style according to the client’s needs and requests, those needs might be difficult to define if a client hasn’t specifically requested any clothing item, a size, or fitting preference. Hence the stylist having to style clients based on their own idea of what looks good.
Another problem that effects both the take rate for purchased items and overall customer satisfaction is that some of these online shopping services don’t require a photograph of each client—unless the clients individually link stylists to a social media of theirs which contains their photograph. This is a good thing for both comfort and confidentiality purposes towards the client. However, stylists don’t have any visibility as to what their clients actually look like, which makes styling them a little more difficult. This is only a minor problem since the clients are ultimately in charge of what they want to wear, regardless of what the stylists deem as relevant and fashionable.
But whichever side you’re on—on whether online shopping is pivotal or a waste of time—we could at least all agree that online shopper services have become an impactful aspect of any on-the-go person’s daily life. Even as a somewhat broke college student, I’ve learned that I’d actually appreciate this kind of service if I could afford it.