e-commerceImagine having a personal shopper to mine through the clutter of retail sale offers and BOGO promises, to deliver the goods that you can’t live without, but want to pay less for. Well, a group of former Amazon employees joined their savvy-shopping forces together to launch Mona, the self-proclaimed “World’s Smartest Personal Shopper.”

The creators of Mona had one simple goal; revolutionize e-commerce with a mobile shopping experience that combines the best in technology, software and personalization. Gone are the days of corny subject lines and every 60-second flash sale updates. With the help of this mobile-shopping magnate, there will be less sale clutter in your inbox and more room for receipts and shopping rewards. That’s because Mona will only deliver the sale updates that are intuitively selected based on your preferences.

So how does it work? First, users must request an invitation code from the Mona website (the app is still in Beta testing). After you receive your invitation code, download the app through your phone’s marketplace.

Once the app is up and running, you’ll complete a preference profile that contains your likes, sizes and favorite designers – along with a few other qualifiers to personalize your shopping results.

Within the app, you’ll embark upon your sale “mission,” minus the travel, parking spot wars and long lines, by setting a specific shopping goal, i.e. size 10 running shoes under $120. Mona will take that information and track items until it finds exactly what you’ve asked for. The team at Mona ensures that you’ll only get the items that meet your search criteria and offers the best discounts.

As you interact with the app, you’ll see how Mona evolves to your tastes and tailors recommendations based on preferences you set. Each day you will receive a curated list of the top 20 daily deals..

The convenience that Mona offers doesn’t come without controversy. According to computerworld.com, part of the download process requires the user’s full email credentials, which enables Mona to scan user inboxes to gain information on their shopping preferences, including emailed receipts. Some consumers might not fancy giving access to their email so freely. Mona’s Terms of Use includes their privacy policy and are available for consumers to review before downloading the app from their website.

While consumers may initially be a bit leery, research shows a growing trend of sacrificing privacy for convenience. Small business owners, like you, stand a great chance of benefitting from the highly personalized, 1-1 communication channel and impressive lead generation that Mona can offer. Ultimately, this means more sales both online and in brick-and-mortar locations, increased customer retention and better customer relationship management.

For more information on Mona, visit their website.

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