Anyone who’s ever used Siri knows that when Siri’s on, Siri’s on in a big way.
If you ask the questions just right, Siri will offer incredibly accurate responses and provide some impressive levels of information. That’s not always how it works out, of course, but the idea that we can ask our devices a question and get an answer is a thrilling one.
Now, imagine how that would work with shopping. I’ll give you a moment to catch your breath before dropping another bombshell: that’s an idea already in progress thanks to a couple former Amazon staffers who got together to make Mona.
Mona, just recently launched, allows users to ask the app a question—like when a certain pair of shoes go on sale, or where to find a laptop under $300—and the app responds with an answer.
The idea, as expressed by CEO and co-founder Orkun Atik, is that shopping shouldn’t be organized around products, but rather around people. Atik further noted that, in most ways, nothing has really changed in e-commerce since the early 2000s. Mona, is set to do just that by allowing people to tell Mona what they were looking for, not looking to see what a site actually had.
That means that shopping becomes a much easier task, with a lot of the heavy lifting taken out of it. Mona is also able to offer a look at the latest trends, making product suggestions based around preferences the user has been shown to have. Basically, the more a shopper puts Mona to work, the better a job Mona does as it learns about its user. At its launch, Mona will have 100 sites built into its operation, including Amazon, but also Nordstrom and Barneys. Those who buy a product with Mona will net Mona’s makers a kickback, and Mona’s makers hope that one day Mona will become a third-party marketplace with a really impressive search strategy.
While admittedly, some will be turned off by losing the thrill of the hunt that comes with finding just the right item at just the right price, there will likely be plenty of others eager for a customer experience that says “I want this bag for this price. Find it, Mona.” and then Mona goes forth to find in the fashion of a well-trained hunting dog.
That’s going to trim a lot of time off people’s shopping experiences, and that in turn is likely to prove welcome. Better yet, it’s going to give Mona a real edge over not only a lot of other shopping experiences by essentially bringing together several of the biggest and taking a cut of purchases, but also over other personal assistants. For example, I took out my iPad and asked Siri where I could find a laptop for under $300.
Instead of checking Amazon or eBay, Siri offered up a list of area stores I could check. That’s not going to end well for me if I check those stores, so Siri has just wasted my time. That’s a way Mona can win out, and potentially, big.
Mona has a lot of room to shake up mobile shopping, and it’s it’s likely that Mona will win plenty of friends looking for an easier, smoother shopping experience.