London - When it comes to buying a new outfit, forget asking your partner or a shop assistant for a second opinion.
Many shoppers now prefer to seek advice from a range of friends from afar – by posting “chelfies”, or changing-room selfies, on social media.
Both men and women have been taking pictures of themselves while trying on clothes in stores and then uploading them to sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Women need an average of three “likes” from friends before they buy items, while men tend to wait for at least four, a survey of 2 000 young people found. Two in five confessed they discard an outfit if it gets fewer than ten likes.
The trend, which has attracted a host of celebrities such as singer Jessie J and Irish model Vogue Williams, has seen the number of chelfies posted on Twitter double in the past three months, the research for fashion website Shopa found.
One in seven shoppers under the age of 30 – and as many as a third of 13-year-olds – now seek online approval on every outfit, the study found. This has made the average shopping time almost double from 16 minutes to 31 minutes, while almost a third of people admitted spending up to two hours choosing an outfit while they wait for likes.
Women are most likely to seek opinions on evening dresses and high heels, while men ask for advice on trainers and shirts.
Behavioural psychologist Linda Papadopoulos said: “The results are unsurprising as, although online shopping is becoming increasingly popular, many of us still rely on our friends’ approval when purchasing new clothes or accessories.
“The ease of being able to share a visual representation of the look we’re trying to achieve makes it easier to reach out for validation.”
Daily Mail