KUALA LUMPUR: Shopping has been the favourite pastime of most women but of late, not many are willing to spend their time doing groceries, going on bargain hunts or run errand.
As such, many consumers have opted for personal shopper service as a more convenient way of buying their groceries, household items, clothing, cosmetics and even furniture.
For Nurfarahin Rosli, 28, she had never expected her interest in window shopping would turn into her career when she decided to become a full-time personal shopper three years ago.
“I am a very particular person and will always participate in product surveys to buy branded items such as handbags, clothes, women’s accessories at reasonable prices. I will also keep myself informed of latest updates of new products in the market.
“From there, many of friends have asked me to help them to buy various branded items at a cheaper price. As a personal shopper, we must always keep ourselves updated on promotions and sales,” she said.
Nurfarahin said prior to the movement control order (MCO), she managed to generate a five-figure income a month.
Sharing the challenges she faced, the former producer at a local television station said the job may seem easy to some people, but personal shoppers are required to have physical and emotional strength, as well as patience to serve their customers well.
She said personal shoppers should also be able to wisely manage the orders they receive to avoid mistakes and ensure customers are satisfied with their items.
Nurfarahin said the implementation of MCO also saw the demand for personal shoppers doubled as many prefer to stay at home to prevent them from being exposed to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Maiza Hassan Basri, 34, said she started her career as a full-time personal shopper for furniture and household items in 2015.
The former bank executive said she is ready to help customers to get various items, including sofas, beds or cooking utensils, from a world-renowned Swedish furniture store here.
With a service charge of as low as RM5 per item, Maiza said she would then arrange for doorstep delivery of her customers’ orders.
“I really enjoy doing this job and always treat it as a stress relief. Going to the store outlet has also become a me time to me and at the same time I’m able to earn my own pocket money,” she said.
Maiza said although sometimes she has to stand in long queues to enter an outlet, especially when there are promotions and sales, the effort had been worth it as she gets paid handsomely.
“Alhamdulillah, I receive more orders during this Covid-19 season, probably because people prefer to be at home during this pandemic,” she said.
However, Maiza admitted that the current total lockdown since June 1 has somehow affected her income as most stores are only allowed to operate online during the period. – Bernama
