What is BookGuru?

We are an MIT start-up that has created a social shopping platform AisleConnect® on top of which we also built a mobile application BookGuru, bringing the best aspects of on-line shopping to in-store shopping by allowing the shopper to search products, plan purchases, view reviews, locate items, and enjoy other features traditionally unavailable to them shopping in physical stores.


How much does BookGuru cost?

BookGuru is completely FREE to use for Shoppers!


What smart-phone platforms does BookGuru work on?

Currently, BookGuru 2.1 is available on both iOS and Android devices, and can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store.


What mininum requirements does BookGuru have on these platforms?

BookGuru is supported on any iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch running iOS 9.0 or later. and is currently optimized for iPhone models below iPhone X.

BookGuru is also supported on any Android device running Android 4.0 or later, and is currently optimized for devices supporting xhdpi or above.


I’m having issues with the BookGuru app, who should I contact?

Please contact us to describe the issue. In your description, please make sure to include the email address you used to log into the BookGuru application. We will get back to you within 24 hours of receipt.


When can I expect BookGuru to work at my local store?

We are currently launching pilot programs with various stores in the Boston and Taipei areas. Once those are completed, we will begin pushing for more retail partners in other areas. Stay tuned!

With your in-store location services, how do I prevent shoppers from leaving when they are done?

The point of helping shoppers with location services is not to make it so that they can just get in and out and not spend more time in your store. It is ultimately to improve their experience in the store, where they could otherwise have been frustrated. And that can lead down to a path where shoppers resent coming to the store and /or would just go to a competitor's store.

When a mission shopper comes into your store and is able to quickly find all the things she needs, in her check list, it gives her more time to find things that she wants. In other words, it turns shopping from being a chore to something fun. She will stay in your store if she has more time. Compare this to her leaving your store not getting to buy all the items in her Checklist. Which one would you prefer?


But I already make it easy to find things in my store. Why do I need this?

You may already do that by making your aisles clean and clearly marked with the right categories. Or you have excellent staff who can point them to where things are. But that approach is fairly static and can have some noticeable shortcomings at times.

  • Shoppers may not always identify with how things are labeled or categorized
  • Staff may not always know where everything is, despite excellent orientation programs :)
  • Items may move from one place to another
  • Each time a shopper asks about a product, that question is only known by one staff member who doesn't keep track of these questions

I have already invested in planograms. How will BookGuru work with my investment?

Planograms are a great component to your merchandising strategy. We don't aim to replace / displace your planograms because we serve the same purpose. We can actually work in complementary ways.

For example, if you had your layout planned for users of a specific persona to go down a specific aisle, BookGuru can tell you if people are indeed going down that aisle, by seeing if they have scanned items found there or on the flip side, knowing how many searches were targeting items in that aisle compared to people actually going there.

We believe we are two sides of the same coin and as such, BookGuru is poised to increase the value of your investment on planograms by providing better insight and measurement means of its success.


How do you handle privacy?

Please take a look at our Privacy Policy.