personal shopper
Latest
Amazon's next foray into fashion is a personal shopping service
Amazon's adventures in fashion haven't usually set the world on fire, but it might have a more appealing option: have someone else pick your apparel choices. It just launched a Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe service that, for $5 per month on top of Prime, has a stylist choose clothes based on your tastes. You start with a survey that helps set your preferences and measurements (a tight fit, a retro look and a long torso, for example), and then stay in touch with the stylist through the Amazon app to fine-tune the selection. You get as many as eight of those hand-picked items in a monthly box (you can preview the contents) and pay only for what you keep beyond the one-week try-on period.
Personal shopping discontinued in Apple Stores
Apple retail stores are typically very busy places. While the staff are very helpful, customers generally have to wait around a bit before being served. Fortunately, Apple has offered a reservation system for services like the Genius Bar and training sessions. Unfortunately, one previously available service, personal shopping now seems to be gone. With personal shopping, customers could make an appointment up to two weeks in advance to have a staff member provide personalized assistance in picking out the right ways to spend money in the store. It's not clear why the service has been discontinued but customers can still get help with selecting the right Apple products. The only difference is that they'll now need to stand in line. Of course, good things are worth waiting for and who doesn't want to hang around the Apple store playing with iPads and Macs for a couple of hours?
HP's Retail Store Assistant: a wallet's worst enemy
Fellas, if you thought Ralph Lauren's literal window shopping contraption was your wallet's arch-rival, we've got some unfortunate news, and for the ladies (or guys) who just love to spend it up, HP's about to become your very best friend. The clever gurus at HP Labs have developed a marketer's dream tool that enables customers to enter a retail store, swipe a card, and instantly receive a printout (shown after the jump) that includes "a personalized shopping list, relevant coupons, notice of associated store discounts or sales, and even a map to where the items can be found in the store." The inaccurately named Retail Store Assistant (we were thinking more along the lines of Wallet Depleter) is currently in the "experimental" stage, and would include an in-store kiosk which customers could access via a loyalty card or by inputting their phone number. Of course, this isn't the first stab we've seen at retailers using previous history to target consumers, but the team behind this apparatus insists that it will be much more effective than the typical junk mail that barely graces our eyes before hitting the trash. Best Worst of all, the system will reportedly be available even on the web, meaning that those with an urge to shop can log on during the waning hours of the workday and plan out their shopping spree for maximum efficiency. Oh, the humanity.
Apple launches One to One and Personal Shopping
Mat posted about the rumor that Apple ProCare was going to be split into a few different offerings, and it has come to pass. ProCare is still available, but now you have the option of getting a year of training for $99 (separately), or having a personal shopper help you out at an Apple Store.One to One costs $99 for a year, and that 99 bucks gets you one on one time with an Apple Pro who is there to help you. Work on a project, get some pointers in iWork, whatever you need help with (Mac and iPod related, of course).Personal Shopping is free, though you have to register ahead of time (up to 14 days in advance). You get the undivided attention of a Mac specialist who will walk you through the various products at the Apple store to find just the thing you're looking for.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
