CORK, Ireland, May 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alana 'CityStyleBot' is giving high street and independent fashion retailers an alternative virtual shop front to serve customers post COVID-19. Launched in February 2020, Cork Start Up Alana is an innovative Fashion and Beauty platform for consumers to purchase curated fashion looks and beauty products. Alana is powered by Artificial Intelligence meaning that it learns to recommend styles/brands that will suit each customer's unique taste. Alana suggests clothes from high street retailers and independent boutiques with a same day delivery service making the whole highstreet a virtual shopping center - one checkout - one delivery charge of €3.99. Alana helps retailers compete with major brands who have an established ecommerce foothold. According to ACI Worldwide there is a 74% growth in the average transaction volumes due to a dramatic rise in online retail this March in comparison to March 2019. 

Post COVID-19 Alana will launch its partnership with hotels and tour operators to create the ultimate City Break. This will be a rewarding new revenue stream for the Tourism Industry. Customers can use the virtual styling service or beauty stylists and have Alana deliver looks and products to their hotels, while still practising social distancing, ready for them to enjoy all the destination has to offer in style. Alana already has a crew of stylists working in New York and Ireland and is growing in global footprint.

Community Manager Simone McCarthy says, "Alana is the uber of fashion giving customers access to clothes, accessories and more at their fingertips. For retailers it will boost online sales as well as showcasing their offering through the influencers affiliated with Alana. It is especially valuable for small independent boutiques who are not set up for online sales. There are so many independent fashion retailers that are not online and Alana App is a lifeline for them during COVID-19 as there is a readymade audience eager to keep up to date with fashion and indulge in some retail therapy."

Alana is a superior user experience for shoppers due to the recommendation feature powered by Artificial Intelligence which gets to know a shopper's style and so can serve up clothes that are to the shoppers taste. Chloe Markham, Head of Fashion at Alana says, "Since joining Alana I have broadened my reach to a global audience. Alana allows women the luxury of having their own personal stylist at an affordable rate from the click of a button. It is fast, efficient, and affordable. We bring style to your door."

Developed with UCC's Prof Barry O' Sullivan, Alana uses a patent pending technology within its AI recommendation engine. The unique gossip algorithm will tell you when your favorites are available and will alert you when that perfect dress arrives in store. Prof O'Sullivan says, "As users interact with styled looks on the platform, a user specific profile is generated that forms the basis of making highly personalised recommendations, helping to maximise the impacts of Alana on the high street."

Watch this space - major brand development announcement coming this Friday May 8th.

Instagram: @Alana.ie, Twitter: @shopwithalana and Facebook: @alanaloves

Link to high res images in dropbox https://bit.ly/2L6KAIo

About Alana

Alana is considered the Uber of fashion offering a multi-store pick-up delivery service. Using state of the art artificial intelligence technology to bring fashionable outfits to our customers that we know they will love.

Alana offers three distinct services to our customers:

1.  We create styles and looks from which you can shop. You can choose to shop the whole look, items from the look or mix and match between looks.

2.  We offer a multi-store pick up service meaning you can purchase items from multiple stores and will only ever pay one standard delivery rate of €3.99.

3.  We also offer a bespoke virtual styling service. You can choose from any of our talented styling team and set up a virtual styling appointment. Here they will go through everything with you from budget, style, wardrobe decluttering, colours and more.

Our Roots

Backed by Serial Entrepreneurs Niamh Parker and Allan Beechinor a husband and wife team. They recognised the gap in the market for a multi-store delivery service. As a busy mother of four who loves fashion, Niamh had lost confidence in her style and her love for shopping as she did not have the time or the energy to go from shop to shop. Thus, Alana was created to allow the everyday woman with a busy lifestyle to buy back time. Alana is named after the couple's eight year old daughter Alannah in order to bring the children on the entrepreneurial journey with them. 

Global to Local

Alana has a team of talented stylists based in Cork to New York! However, the mindset has always been to benefit our community. We do not store stock in warehouses, instead we collect items from local stores with the aim to save the High Street. We hope to benefit the environment from reducing packaging due to our multi-store shopping and also to benefit the local economy. By purchasing the items from local stores means supporting jobs in each City. Our mission is to save the High Street and provide retailers of all sizes a platform to be noticed, and sell to the world

Virtual Style Sessions

Alana is the stylish best friend you have always wanted. Our virtual styling sessions last one hour and cost just €35. Each appointment is completely tailored to the customer and the stylist of their choice will go through everything they want to discuss from style tips and tricks, colours, and seasons. "Since coming on board with Alana as Head of Fashion and as a stylist it has allowed me to further my reach and style women on a global scale as well as connecting local retailers to new customers. Alana allows women the luxury of having their own personal stylist at an affordable rate from the click of a button. It is fast, efficient, and affordable. We bring style to your door", Chloe Markham, Head of Fashion at Alana. Stylists are also supported by the recommendation system to help with the shopping and styling experience.

Smarter Shopping

Alana is the future of fashion, cleverly combining style with technology. Through the use of AI, Alana delivers personalised recommendations to our customers based on their own individual taste. No more aimless scrolling on multiple fashion sites! "Alana has a core component, a state-of-the-art AI engine, that uses personalisation to create an exceptional user experience" explains Barry O'Sullivan, AI Advisor. As users interact with styled looks on the platform a user-specific profile is generated that forms the basis for making highly personalised recommendations of other looks and items they might wish to consider.

You can Shop the Look or Book a Stylist on Alana.ie and for more updates sign up for our newsletter. You can follow us on Instagram: @Alana.ie, Twitter: @shopwithalana and Facebook: @alanaloves

If you have any questions, please email Simone on simone@alana.ie or Niamh NiamhLehane@alana.ie

SOURCE Alana