A Chicago startup wants to save shoppers from aimlessly scouring retail racks and bargain bins to find the clothes they need. Instead, Scout My Style wants to give shoppers personalized clothing recommendations from nearby retail professionals.
Scout My Style launched out of beta in February and provides users with shopping suggestions from local boutiques based on their personal preferences. Users take a short style interview, detail the type of item they are looking for (style, price, etc.), and Scout My Style sends that information to its partnering shops. If a shop has an item that matches that description, an employee will send a message to the user with the item's information. The user and the store connect via email and the shopper buys the item in-store if they're ready to purchase.
Scout My Style has partnered with 30 boutiques in neighborhoods across Chicago, and co-founder Russell Layng says it's constantly adding new stores. Some of its current shops include Adelaide, Anastasia, The Blues Jean Bar, and Florodora.
The benefit to shoppers is they get style recommendations from an actual person who knows their store's inventory and the preferences of the shopper, Layng said.
"We get in the middle at first then bow out and let the store do their thing," he said. "It's coming from an expert at the local store who is good at what they do."
The stores benefit by being connected with a "highly qualified lead," added Layng, meaning someone who is looking to buy right now and more or less knows what they want.
Layng said around 400 to 500 users have tried Scout My Style, which is currently free to shoppers and boutiques. Down the road the startup plans to charge shops a fee for getting connected with buyers.
With so many of different ways to shop for clothes online, Scout My Style is up against established e-commerce sites that are already well known to shoppers. But Layng said his startup works differently by marrying the online and in-store experience, creating a more personal shopping atmosphere.
"We're bridging the gap between shopping online and shopping in the store," he said.
Scout My Style plans to add more Chicago shops to its platform, and could get into other items like jewelry in the future, Layng said. The site's next feature will allow shoppers to use the platform to shop for someone else, giving people a hand when finding the right gift, he added.
Image via Scout My Style
