WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO START SECRET SHOPPERS?
BUSHRA: Secret Shoppers started almost four years ago during a fortuitous visit to Lahore when I had been asked to help pick out a present from a reputed authentic designer store in the city. I was shocked and appalled to see the overpriced, counterfeit items available. Eventually, I had to source the present from London, and that is when the idea of Secret Shoppers took root. I reached out to my friend Hina and with an idea in hand we started small, procuring for close friends and family. Before we knew it, we found ourselves inundated by demands in the middle of a blustering business! Online shopping barely existed in Pakistan at this point and the concept of buying through Facebook was unheard of. We had very stringent ethics from the start and our unintended promotion through word of mouth spread like wild fire, successfully positioning us high on the scales of trust and reliability.
HINA: I used to shop for designer and highend products for my close family in Pakistan, so I was quite familiar with the whole process. When Bushra approached me with the idea for Secret Shoppers, I knew it had a lot of potential. I must say it wasn’t an easy journey to change people’s mind from buying things from stores to online shopping, but with great teamwork, we have managed to make this venture successful.
WHAT WAS THE IDEA BEHIND THE NAME?
HINA: The concept from the start was to help our members save time, effort and money, while shopping for high value goods. As we shop on behalf of our clients, the ‘shoppers’ part of the name was to signify the personal shopping services we provide. We have always maintained a closed group on Facebook and our website is also only a members only portal, so all our members are screened before any membership is approved. Therefore, the “secret” part of our name was to highlight the exclusivity of our services.
WHAT SETS SECRET SHOPPERS APART FROM ALL OTHER FACEBOOK PAGES THAT OFFER HIGH-END BRANDS AND PERSONAL SHOPPING?
BUSHRA: We offer a complete package of styling and advisory services, along with access to exclusive products. We work closely with some of the top international designers and retailers, to bring our members several benefits like access to special items, exclusive pricing, sale previews etc.
WHAT IS THE RECENT BARGAIN THAT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF?
BUSHRA: We not only pride ourselves in getting our clients splendid offers, but also access to items that are very hard to procure. From buying our client rare Hermes bags to the latest Yeezy’s that remain sold out everywhere, we ensure we make your designer dreams come true.
WHEN WERE YOU LAST STAR STRUCK?
BUSHRA: That has to be when I met the very renowned Mr. Jimmy Choo. It was an honour and privilege; not only am I a huge fan of his work but also because he is truly an icon of the fashion industry.
HINA: I have always loved the funky collections by Sophia Webster, so I was very pleased to meet her at London Fashion Week. She is very down to earth and humble, and it was a very lovely experience.
ANY FUNNY/CRAZY CLIENT STORIES TO SHARE?
BUSHRA: We are very grateful to our clientele and share a great relationship with them, but once in a while we are presented with rather amusing yet bizarre requests. The memorable client story for me would be when a customer asked if we could help source and deliver a spare motorcycle part!
HINA: We take all our clients requests very seriously and try to find products they have requested, or send similar options. There are few times when clients have Googled designer items and sent us images of fake designs which designer’s never had as part of their original collection.
DO YOU OFFER SHIPPING WORLDWIDE?
WHAT ARE THE APPROXIMATE CHARGES?
HINA: We ship worldwide at subsidized rates and offer a hassle free custom clearance service for deliveries to Pakistan. Charges vary with destination country and size / weight of order however, approximate charges range from £10-£30 on average.
WHAT WAS THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS DEMAND A CLIENT PUT FORWARD?
BUSHRA: We take all issues very seriously no matter how outrageous the complaint and always go the extra mile to help resolve the matter. However, sometimes matters do become humorous like the time when a customer messaged me two years after her purchase for a refund. She demanded that her designer shoes had
FROM BUYING OUR CLIENT RARE HERMES BAGS TO THE LATEST YEEZY’S THAT REMAIN SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE, WE ENSURE WE MAKE YOUR DESIGNER DREAMS COME TRUE. – BUSHRA
not shown wear as well as she had expected and after two years of use, the heel was now looking shoddy!
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE YOUR OWN BOSS?
BUSHRA: It’s simply amazing! With a strict office routine for a decade working in the Banking sector, it’s great to finally be able to operate on my own schedule.
HINA: Being your own boss is an incredible feeling and gives you the freedom of self proclaimed working hours, but at the same time you have to be available 24/7 if something goes wrong.
WHAT IS THE MOST FREQUENT BRAND THAT CUSTOMERS ORDER IN?
HINA: Although we shop from a wide variety of international designers, the most frequent brand would have to be Valentino.
IS THERE A SPECIFIC TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN SECRET SHOPPERS OFFERS AMAZING DISCOUNTS?
HINA: We tend to get the best offers a month before the two main sale periods; summer and Christmas sales.
WHAT IS THE BEST PART ABOUT YOUR JOB? WHAT IS THE WORST PART?
BUSHRA: We really understand how important high value buys can be, so to see our customer’s fully satisfied and loving their new purchases really makes all our hard work worthwhile. The worst part would be the many factors we are unable to control! With the elements of export / import in the equation, there are a lot of logistics that need to be managed.
HINA: I can’t agree more with Bushra on this, the best part is when you receive a great review from your client about their recent purchase and whole personal shopping experience with Secret Shoppers. For us, the worst part is an unhappy client which we make sure never happen and resolve the issue as quickly as we can.
WHERE DO YOU SEE THIS VENTURE IN 5 YEARS?
BUSHRA: In five years we look forward to maintaining our reputation as pioneers in developing the new face of personal shopping. We expect, our recently launched first of its kind website for personal shopping, to be the heart of our business. We are expanding our team and have recently announced the addition of celebrity stylist Asmaa Mumtaz to Secret Shoppers.
HINA: We are bringing personal shopping directly to customers for in-store purchases at our recently set up first ever personal shopping kiosk in Islamabad, partnered with Ensemble.