Back-to-school shopping can quickly add up, but artificial intelligence is giving families new ways to compare prices, find better value, and make their budgets go further.
Today's guest, Rodney Mason, joins us to explain how consumers can use AI as a personal shopping assistant rather than simply another search engine. He shares how giving AI details about your budget, children's needs, preferred brands, timing, and priorities can help identify the best time to buy, compare products and retailers, uncover lower-cost alternatives, and determine which purchases should come first.
Rodney also discusses how families can stack sale prices with cashback offers, credit-card rewards, and rebates to maximize savings. From stretching a $300 back-to-school budget to shopping for larger purchases like laptops and uniforms, he shares practical ways to use AI to spend less time searching and make more informed purchasing decisions.
Rodney Mason is the Chief Marketing Officer of Minty, an AI shopping companion designed to help consumers discover savings and help ecommerce brands build stronger customer loyalty.
A longtime marketing executive and entrepreneur, Rodney has extensive experience across strategy, operations, marketing, sales, ecommerce, retail, technology, financial services, consumer products, and other industries.
His insights and thought leadership have been featured by organizations and media outlets including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Ad Age, NBC News, IAB, and others.
Rodney is also a member of the Forbes Communications Council and has been actively examining how AI is reshaping the consumer shopping journey—from product discovery and comparison to cashback, rewards, and purchasing decisions.
As CMO of Minty, he focuses on the intersection of AI, ecommerce, consumer behavior, and value, helping shoppers find better ways to save while helping brands adapt to an increasingly AI-driven shopping experience.