What: Self-employed personal shoppers are capturing the relationship with the biggest luxury spenders from brands and retailers, typically earning a commission starting at 10% of client spend.

Why it is important: Declining in-store service now has a measurable cost: clients disappointed by brands pay a third party, often 10% or more of their spend, to restore the standard they expect.

Independent personal shoppers have become a fixture of luxury consumption, serving clients in the UAE, Singapore and the US around the clock. London-based Amber Gordon, formerly of Selfridges, works with more than 150 clients, handling last-minute international gifts, event attendance, beauty bookings, rare vintage pieces and holiday wardrobes, with purchases starting at £10,000.

The model grew during the pandemic, when closed stores led brands to develop clienteling via WhatsApp, and expanded as lay-offs at Saks, Matchesfashion, Browns, Ssense, Farfetch and Net-a-Porter pushed staff to go solo. Most earn a commission starting at 10% of spend, paid by clients, brands or both. Former Net-a-Porter executive Lupe Puerta, founder of The Floorr app, says a good personal shopper can lift client spend by up to 40%.

At The Bicester Collection, personal shoppers account for 20% of the business, and many hold independent client books worth millions. Resale is a growing segment: Folio by Reflaunt lets shoppers sell clients' items across 35 channels, paid either upfront or through a 3% to 7% commission on each sale.

Shoppers note declining service and product education from brands' in-store staff, as brands struggle to train and retain top associates, a gap that trained independents now fill.

IADS Notes: The value concentrated in client-facing talent is visible inside department stores themselves: at Bergdorf Goodman, the 40 highest-volume associates generate about $200 million in annual sales, half of revenue comes from clients spending more than $10,000 a year, and sales through associates and personal shoppers rose 5% this year (The New York Times, October 2026). The same talent is exposed when multi-brand retailers fail. After the Harvey Nichols collapse, Frasers Group committed goodwill payments to freelance personal shoppers and stylists left unpaid and moved them from quarterly to monthly payment (City AM, August 2026), ahead of a restructuring that brought significant redundancies and the elimination of entire departments (Drapers, September 2026). Retailers are meanwhile investing in the top-client relationship directly: Lotte Department Store rebuilt its VIP programme around curated travel, dining and wellness partnerships and bespoke rewards, and now counts online spend in VIP selection (Maeil Business Newspaper, January 2026). On the brand side, LVMH recognised 73 sales associates from 44 houses as artisans in its Virtuoses 2025 programme, presenting sales teams as a strategic asset for differentiation and loyalty (Fashion United, December 2025).

The big business of personal shopping