Mobile Price Match
3 comments July 16th, 2008
Summary from post on Advertising Lab~
Imagine: You find something you like, reach into your pocket for a small device, scan the barcode, and the device tells you whether and were the same product is available for a lower price.
This future just got one step closer with the release of an iPhone app Checkout SmartShop, “a shopping assistant meant to help you find online and local prices when you’re out and about shopping.” For now, you still need to type in the UPS code; they are working on converting the iPhone camera into a barcode scanner.
In a post on industry blog Advertising Lab last January on online experiences and offline expectations, the author writes, “Retailers gotta act quick if they want to have some control over the converging experiences. In a few years, people will be carrying web browsers in their pockets and won’t be needing all this retail innovation. Then they would go to Barnes & Noble to browse books and order the ones they like on Amazon right from the store.”
That part about “a few years” was probably too optimistic. Not only can we now browse the internet with small devices, such as our phones, these same devices can assist us with where to get the best deal.
