Smart Phone Apps are Altering How Consumers Comparison Shop
Dec 16, 2009 1:16 PM
This holiday shopping season has been very different from years past, and not just because the final same-store sales figures will be crucial in indicating if the nascent economic recovery has real legs. This season has also been marked by consumers hunting for deals in new ways by using cell phones and other mobile devices to shop online while at the mall.
For example, by snapping a picture of scanning a barcode, consumers can comparison shop on the go, meaning that they may see a product they want to buy in one store, but instead purchase it online, or drive to another store where the same item is less expensive. In addition, other applications for iPhones and the Android operating system enable shoppers to receive promotions on the go and search malls virtually while walking them physically.
In the next few pages, Site Optimizer profiles a handful of these new applications and how shoppers are using them.
Several applications including ShopSavvy, RedLaser and Amazon Remembers, allow shoppers to scan product barcodes or photograph productions and find out what other brick-and-mortar retailers nearby as well as online retailers are charging for the same item.
Meanwhile, Point Inside makes it easier to navigate malls by providing map and directory access to more than 400 properties in North America and more than 100,000 stores and services like elevators and ATMs. Lastly, NearbyNow allows iPhone users to look through 20 popular gift giving guides and generates lists of stores near the user that might be carrying those products.
