Shoppers Stop says personal shoppers drive 26% of its business as retail shifts to trust-led personalisation
At the ETRetail ShopFWD Summit, Indian retail leaders said future growth will hinge on privacy-respecting personalisation, omnichannel relevance and experiences that win consumer time. Shoppers Stop highlighted tier-2 expansion and the productivity of its personal-shopping workforce.
What happened
Indian retail leaders said future growth will depend on personalised, privacy-respecting experiences, trust and omnichannel relevance. Shoppers Stop cited
Key facts
- 4th ETRetail ShopFWD Summit 2026
- August 26-27
- 2047
- Personal shoppers are about 3% of Shoppers Stop employees
- Personal shoppers contribute 26% of Shoppers Stop business
- 2030
- Forum Malls' biophilic design increased construction costs by around 15% in some projects
Why this matters
Potential partners and acquisition targets should combine customer data, clienteling workflows and associate enablement, as department stores increasingly treat personalised service as a measurable revenue engine rather than a premium-store add-on.
What to watch
- Disclosure of personal-shopper headcount growth, sales contribution, revenue per advisor or customer-retention uplift.
- Growth in appointment bookings, assisted digital orders, WhatsApp commerce and clienteling-led transactions.
- Evidence that tier-2 store openings generate higher assisted-sales penetration than metro stores.
- Changes in loyalty enrollment, consent rates, marketing opt-outs and customer-data governance requirements.
- Competitor responses from Indian department stores, premium fashion chains, marketplaces and beauty retailers expanding stylist or concierge programs.
- Whether advisor-attributed sales remain incremental after accounting for existing-store sales, discounting, returns and customer migration from self-service channels.
- Expand personal-shopper coverage in tier-2 cities, where assisted discovery can offset lower familiarity with premium brands and department-store assortments.
- Connect advisors to unified customer profiles spanning store purchases, app behavior, loyalty, WhatsApp conversations, returns and wish lists.
- Shift from broad promotional outreach to appointment-led services, curated drops, wardrobe occasions, gifting and replenishment missions.
- Create advisor-level metrics for incremental revenue, repeat rate, gross margin, customer lifetime value, cancellations and return-adjusted sales.
- Use AI to prepare product recommendations and next-best actions, while retaining human approval for styling, relationship management and privacy-sensitive interactions.
- Test whether personal-shopping services can be tiered: free for loyalty/VIP segments, appointment-based for high-intent customers and paid for premium styling occasions.