If I were a retailer, I’d see this as a threat. More handsets means more people who want to priceshop with their smart phones.
AMAZON BARCODE SCANNER ANDROID
We saw that last year ( David for sure, possibly Floyd) Android phones are building momentum as well, with the announcement of the second handset slated for January 29. Maybe the newly-minted recession will dampen smart phone sales, but I’m expecting a spike in new iPhone users come January. That’s not to say it won’t become an issue in not-so-distant future. So, the threat here is minor, at least for now. Even though I think Amazon’s app is sweet, I haven’t used it yet except for testing, and there’s a good chance I won’t remember to use for months. Of those who do have smart phones, not everyone has (or cares to use) these apps. at the DMV, in the mall, around town, etc. I’m just going based on what I’ve seen in random samplings of life, e.g. I know statistics would make this seem more concrete, but I don’t have any. I wouldn’t expect this to become at all common for at least another year.įirst off, not that many people have these phones, believe it or not. So far, I’ve not seen much reaction from retailers in the news, except for one story mentioned in RWW about a Target in Detroit. So, you don’t even have to attract negative attention from the retailer’s employee by snapping pictures of barcodes.
![amazon barcode scanner amazon barcode scanner](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61YJd846KQL._AC_SY355_.jpg)
More iPhones and Google Android phones in people’s hands means more possibilities for comparison shopping using the camera as a barcode scanner isn’t new or difficult, and there are plenty of apps that will capture a barcode image and using its UPC, list the prices of other retailers giving you an idea of how good the price you’re seeing IRL really is.īeyond barcode scanners, I mentioned Amazon’s new iPhone app last week which uses its own Mechanical Turk service as the means for identifying products, and there’s always the slower, but equally as effective method of opening a browser and shopping like you would on your laptop. I think that’s clear when you get through the post.įrom my, “this will get really interesting” file, comes a story from ReadWriteWeb about retail stores and consumers using smart phone barcode scanners to price shop. I do not support the heavy-handed approach to barcode scanners.
![amazon barcode scanner amazon barcode scanner](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61NisKaCDCL._AC_SY355_.jpg)
![amazon barcode scanner amazon barcode scanner](https://www.rfgen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Wireless-barcode-scanners-are-used-by-Amazon-warehouse-employees-to-efficiently-locate-packages.jpg)
Update: I added quotation marks to the title, thinking that they might help convey the right impression, i.e. Photo by dinglemunch used under Creative Commons