Powered by AI, personal shopping assistant Mona is aimed at organising shopping around “people not products”. The app scours online stores for items that meet specific criteria, allowing users to ask when a specific pair of shoes will go on sale or when a dress from a particular designer will be available. Mona also offers personalised shopping suggestions.

The app was launched in 2015 by former Amazon engineers Orkun Atik, who worked on the company’s recommendation systems, and Nurettin Dag, who specialised in the logistics platform that powers Amazon’s same-day delivery services. Based in Seattle, Mona raised $100,000 (£77,786) from Techstars and Right Side Capital Management in its first year.

In 2016, Mona grew its customer base by more than 10 times, achieving a conversion rate of 3.2% while 19% of site visitors added a product to their shopping cart, compared to mobile retail industry averages of 0.5% and 4%, respectively.