Shops starting to employ attention-seeker (4)
I believe the answer is:
psst
'attention-seeker' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'shops starting to employ' is the wordplay.
'to employ' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (I've seen 'employing' mean this (the answer is used or employed by the clue)).
'PSST' is hidden within 'shops starting'.
(Other definitions for psst that I've seen before include "This is confidential" , "Quiet attention-seeker" , "Don't tell anyone" , "Whispered attention grabber" , "way of attracting attention" .)