Ten years ago, I was a high school student working my first job: a sales associate at a clothing outlet. My friend applied first and I followed, with our logic that work would be fun if we were together. I loved fashion from a young age, but not the corporate adult clothing that I was selling. Adults would ask teenage me for fashion advice, and I would go with my gut and hope for the best. I was far from an expert, but I knew I was expected to be an unofficial stylist.
Today, the brand has experienced a resurgence on social media, particularly an it-bag they can’t keep in stock. The store has more customers, but fewer employees. Shoppers know what they want.
As a shopper, I have observed the shift myself and inevitably became a part of it. When I first started shopping at Sephora, the store had its IQ Kiosks, large computers that analysed customers’ faces and helped them find products that suited their needs. However, customers eventually trusted their phone screens more than the touchscreens, and the kiosks were discontinued in 2020. When countless quality products compete for attention, the decision often comes down to a simple question: Whose recommendation do you trust?
It may seem like shopping has evolved in a straight line, but many in the fashion and beauty world have found it to be a loop. While many forces have shaped the shopping landscape, very few would argue that the biggest shift came from online shopping and social media. As consumers became better informed and well-researched, the role of the traditional sales associate began to decline. With the ever-evolving rise of AI, one would imagine that the decline would continue. However, many experts in the commerce world have observed a shift: a growing return to the physical and personal. “I think it’s sort of a full circle moment”, says fashion and beauty journalist Lauren Cunningham. “People are coming back to the stores because they do want human connection.”
Today, shoppers often walk into stores with a product already in mind, seeking a sensory experience and the chance to ask sales associates questions. Almost every online shopper has a horror story of blind buying. No matter how technology evolves, a conversation with a human will always feel more assuring than counting on reviews and robots. Living in the digital age can feel like taking a daily trip through a shopping center, where aggressive sales associates chase quotas at every turn. “We’ve got the Pinterest girls, we’ve got TikTok trends… people are so much more influenced by what we see online than ever before,” says Cunningham.
If the social media platform is a shopping center, influencers own the stores. Most notably, the storefront platform ShopMy has continued to grow. As of last October, the platform was valued at $1.5 billion. It is built on the foundation of influencer success. However, Cunningham notes that it has recently launched a personal shopping feature. “I think people were originally drawn into the big influencers. Everyone would rush to buy what Leonie Hanne or Lucy Williams or one of them would buy, but now they want that more personal aspect again.”
Many academic studies highlight this shift, including one published by Harvard Business Review last December. The study found that while influencer marketing is growing, trust in influencers is declining. It highlights an important contradiction. While 88% of consumers value authenticity, nearly half believe that most influencers are “fake”, and over a third believe that they misrepresent the products they endorse. Further, there is a growing conversation about the importance of finding your own style and the role social media plays.
While the outlets for discovering your personal style have evolved, a timeless approach remains. Being a thoughtless follower is dangerous, but finding a spark of genuine inspiration is magical. The role of social media often carries a negative connotation. However, it can be used in a mindful and positive way. “I think that’s now the fun with fashion and social media”, says Cunningham. “There’s more inspiration than there ever has been. We’re not just looking to runways, we’re looking to people all over the world that we now have access to.”
Cunningham says that at age 28, she has not quite found her personal style, a feeling that many share. However, she has taken an exciting and environmentally friendly approach to shopping. “There are different ways to wear the things you own or add a couple of new bits in every season that make outfits feel fresh”, she says. “I don’t think anyone feels tied to one box anymore, which is great.”
As the founder of Grounded Magazine and a contributor to iconic fashion publications including Marie Claire and Glamour, Cunningham reflects on the difference between editorial and influencer recommendations. “The two styles are completely different”, she says. “You would probably follow only the influencers whose style you like. Magazines try to cater to a much larger audience. Hopefully, the majority of people could pick up a magazine or look at a magazine online and find at least one product they like in every edit.”
Behind the glossy page lies a lot of thought and consideration. “There’s actually a lot more that goes into shopping edits for magazines than people first might think,” says Cunningham. “We’re going to look at: is there a sale on? Has Meghan Markle worn it? Is there a sort of pool that would make that brand or that piece more click-worthy for the audience, or does it look nice together on the page?”
For as long as I have loved fashion, I have also loved magazines. While it may not be the most practical approach, nothing beats flipping through a physical magazine with a Sharpie and sticky notes. A recent social media trend? The revival of analogue media, including print magazines. Generation Z romanticizes the magazine experience they never had, while older generations are nostalgic for the one that we remember. Cunningham notes that even though readership is declining, magazines carry a credibility that cannot be replicated. “I think there’s a trust there, right? If the Vogue editors say something, you trust them to be cool, you trust them to know the trends, you trust them to know the brands.”
The impact of the physical experience, including the physical store, has not disappeared. It has simply changed function. “I will go searching for specific things,” Cunningham says when I ask about her approach to shopping. “We’ve got some amazing independent stores in London, like Rejina Pyo in Soho. But I do also love walking around Selfridges and Harrods, or those big department stores. Just seeing what’s there, trying things on. I just don’t think online can ever replicate that feeling.”
While my approach has inevitably changed over the years, I wholeheartedly agree that nothing replicates the in-person shopping experience. I can’t quite articulate the feeling of finding the perfect gift for someone you love, discovering a needle-in-a-haystack piece in a vintage shop, or carrying home a luxury purchase in a signature yellow Selfridges bag. In the digital age, I have found the physical store to be more important than ever, and it can’t function without its employees. I love to think that my brief time as a sales associate became part of someone else’s treasured shopping memory.
