Smart Shopping: Your Guide to Personalized Shopping Apps
In our increasingly busy lives, it can be hard to find the time for long shopping trips. But, as ever, technology is providing an answer! To help us find what we need in a faster and more convenient way, several companies are beginning to roll out personalized shopping apps.
As convenience and savings on time begin to take precedence over more leisurely shopping behavior, companies are introducing new technologies to match. In what could spell the end to time spent perusing the shops on a weekend afternoon, companies are beginning to roll out personalized shopping apps.
What are they?
Shopping via our smartphones is a growing industry and the boom of personal shopping apps is a big contributor. They are marketed as personal stylists, helping you have a frictionless and tailored shopping experience with the brands you are interested in purchasing. These apps will work by building a personal profile which includes your likes and dislikes, recent purchases as well as any added details like sizing and price. The app will then search the internet finding these items for you, and will display recommendations.
Adidas has recently entered the personal shopping space, using AI functionality to offer a personal experience for every customer – based on their style and behavior. Adidas customizes recommendations based on user data and supplies suggestions through a feed of articles, blog posts and videos. Similarly, former Amazon employees launched ‘Mona’, which also uses AI to improve your shopping experience. Through interacting with the app, you can ask to be notified for when desired items are being sold for within your budget and you can also track your favorite items.
As well as Adidas and Mona, large fashion brands are starting to realize the potential in personalized shopping apps to connect with the modern customer. Popular apps include ‘Trunk Club’ which pairs you with a personal stylist to gauge your personal style and fit, before presenting a digital preview of recommended items. The Hunt is a slightly different platform. It hosts an online community, where peers can recommend products to one another. The platform relies on members’ recommendations and has a verified celebrity program with well-known fashion influencers.
This new form of smart shopping is revolutionizing the shopping experience and is a glimpse into the future of consumer behavior.
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