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Remote Personal Shoppers Know Your Style

Written by RetailWire Staff

"Let's check back in with Trunk Club next year and see how it fares," said Cathy Hotka, principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates, in a 2009 RetailWire discussion. In an accompanying poll which asked, "How big a market opportunity do you think there is for Trunk Club?," 50 percent answered "very big or moderate," 45 percent "small," and 5 percent "pretty much none."

In 2012, RetailWire addressed "Trunk Club's Full-Price, Full-Service Model." Answering the question, "How transferable is the Trunk Club model to other product categories?," 40 percent each of respondents said "in only some cases" vs. "hardly at all/not at all."

Meanwhile, across the world in Sydney, Australia, Gentlemen's Supply Co is now thriving. Co-founder, Eli Chaiton, wants to make shopping as "hassle-free as possible without losing the best bits of the in-store shopping experience, like attentive service, product advice and being able to try before you buy."

Checking back in now, though, it seems Trunk Club is using proprietary software and algorithms to enable stylists to look after some 500 customers each. Tracking measurements and preferences for its 30,000+ members, according to Techcrunch, involves technology customers barely notice. Simultaneously, its website (www.trunkclub.com) boasts "there's no replacement for the human touch."

Stylists are said to "know which sizes from what brands will fit you best" and have the "ability to put those clothes together into a look that's distinctly your own." According to CNN/Money, investors believe customer service is TrunkClub's unique selling proposition. One investor observed, "its sales team and stylists are developing relationships daily over a long period of time."

Trunk Club product director Neil Kamireddy refers to stylists as humans "made bionic by technology," telling Techcrunch, "Our technology goal is to make this feel very human. ... The customer may not even notice the technology, but we remember his kids' names, and what items he returned five trunks ago."

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