A COUPLE have launched new technology to ease the pressure of gift giving.

Behavioural psychologist Dr Amanda McNamee and her husband Jonathan, a software developer, have partnered up in business to create Love Presto - a platform which uses algorithms to suggest personalised gift ideas for friends and family.

The pair, who currently live in Darlington, will be test-launching the platform ahead of Mother's Day and have made the technology available until March 31.

Love Presto’s research-based algorithm is designed to make gift suggestions based on multiple reference points including relationship, occasion, common interests, and budget.

Mr and Mrs McNamee believe the platform will dramatically simplify the process of buying gifts.

Dr McNamee, who has spent over a decade working in behavioural psychology, said: “In the short-term, we aim to provide a gift companion for busy Millennials. They already know and understand the benefits of using transparent and consented-to data-driven tools to simplify difficult and stressful tasks such as gifting.

“We’ve developed a Mother’s Day offering which helps users to discover the right gift for the occasion. Mother’s Day was an obvious choice as after Christmas it’s the biggest gifting occasion in the UK.

“Research shows we are happiest when we receive a gift we have asked for, however, we rarely ask for the gifts we want.

'“You know what I like” and “I’ll be happy with anything” usually result in us not being happy at all. This cycle merely perpetuates the myth of gifting i.e. that the perfect gift is a surprise.

"The perfect gift is not a surprise. It needs a helping hand. We believe Love Presto can be that helping hand.”

The couple are encouraging people in the North-East to test the platform before they expand its offering throughout the UK.

Mr McNamee has spent over 15 years in development and management across multiple sectors including finance, web and mobile.

He believes the North East is the ideal place to collate the data they need to expand.

He said: "The people in the North-East are some of the warmest and most loyal that you could meet and they're an ideal market for us.

“Setting Love Presto up in the North-East was an easy choice. It is a hive for digital start-ups and creative tech companies – one of the fastest growing regions in the UK.

"There’s a sense that success is a collective effort and coupled with the entrepreneurial outlook in the region, there are a lot of us eager to support each other’s businesses in order to put the North-East on the map.”

Anyone in the North East with access to a smartphone or a computer who needs to buy a Mother’s Day gift can get involved in the test launch campaign.

The Love Presto team will use their tool to find out a little more about the mother in question and will provide a list of suitable gifts that they believe she will love.

The platform can be accessed via lovepresto.com