Partner Article

Shopping for people who hate to shop

In the USA and Europe, start-ups are trying out a new business model for online commerce: curated shopping. The idea is that the merchant puts together a selection of products based on information provided by the customer. The customer just pays for what they like and the rest is sent back.

A concept for the future?

Dear men, we need a quiet word – when are you going to buy a new pair of trousers? Generally when your better half says “you’re not wearing those anymore!” Spending hours shopping is just not in men’s blood, or so the widespread preconception goes.

Curated Shopping

Although it sounds like a joke, it is actually a perfectly serious proposition. It’s a new business model for fashion retailing which has come over to Europe from the USA: Curated Shopping.

The model involves the merchant taking on the job of selecting products for the customer. When choosing items, the merchant uses the information the customer has previously provided via a questionnaire. The user then receives a parcel with a variety of pairs of trousers, shirts, socks etc. which he can choose from. If he doesn’t like the products selected they get sent back.

A particularly interesting aspect of this business model is that the customer acquires a permanent “adviser” who can even be contacted by email or by phone. The objective behind all this is clear. Creating a close “personal” relationship between the merchant and the customer.

Why, what for, where to?

Nonetheless, curated shopping faces a few questions from its critics.

1. Who is this service actually aimed at? Shoppers who are already interested in fashion will not want someone else to choose their clothes for them. Searching for, examining and comparing items is a central part of the shopping experience for them. Not so for people who hate to shop. Why would expert guidance from a personal adviser persuade them to buy things? The trousers are a perfect fit. That’s already reason enough to buy them. Whether the trousers are blue or black, jeans or cargo pants is not so important.

2. At the heart of this concept is the guaranteed right to return items. How many items actually get returned in curated shopping models is not yet known, but experience from conventional fashion sales means we can be confident that the percentage will be very high, and definitely in double figures. This means merchants must ensure that the costs of returning goods do not get out of hand.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Trusted Shops .