Introverts, Rejoice! Now You Can Shop By Text

Remember the first time you ever sent a text? If you do, you're probably an introvert. For shy types, texting was a game-changer, a 2001-monolith moment that rocketed us into a future blissfully free of awkward phone calls to acquaintances, pizza delivery guys, and our moms. But, if texting saved us from phone interaction, a new service offered by Nordstrom aims to go one better — by using texting to replace the in-person experience of personalized shopping. Yesterday, Nordstrom rolled out a program called TextStyle in all of its U.S. stores, according to a statement. The company already offered a service called NEXT, which lets customers communicate directly with a salesperson using their smartphones and see photos or descriptions of the salesperson's selects. Now, TextStyle builds on that capability, allowing shoppers to securely purchase those goods by texting "BUY" to their salesperson. The retailer is the only one in the U.S. to allow customers to shop and buy via text. While there's something a little discomfiting about commanding your personal shopper to "BUY," the service will no doubt be a boon to those of us who are both demanding and super-shy (so, you know, Virgos).