RedLaser ― Impossibly accurate barcode scanning. Why Using ShopSavvy Might Not Be So Savvy. Reading this morning’s New York Times story, Mobile Phones Become Essential Tools for Holiday Shopping, I was reminded again of the fundamental shortsightedness of so many of our economic decisions, that flaw in human nature that makes us seize on temporary advantage without thinking of the long-term consequences. The article focuses on the use of applications like ShopSavvy and RedLaser to do comparison price checking while in the store. On the surface, these are great tools for consumers (and there are other applications besides price comparison.) But remember, cutthroat pursuit of the lowest price will hasten the demise of many retailers, while strengthening others (usually, the biggest and most efficient, who can make money on the slenderest margins.)
But what happens once those mega-retailers are the last one standing? Prices are likely to go up. Particularly troubling is the trend to shop in the store, but then to buy online. The piece struck a chord with booksellers. Barcode Hero - Scan barcodes on your phone and have more fun shopping. Barcode Hero Attacks In-Store Shopping With An Addictive Social Game. You’re likely aware of Foursquare, the location-based service that turns checking-in to venues into a game of sorts. You may also be aware of StickyBits, an app that turns barcodes into message boards. What do you get when you combine them? Barcode Hero, a new product by Kima Labs, a startup founded by two Amazon veterans. The main idea behind the service is an app that attempts to make shopping more social. A user takes their phone into a store, launches the app, and starts scanning the barcodes of items they’re interested in. Doing so unlocks points and rewards such as dukedoms and kingships — yes, the Foursquare idea, but here it’s for product categories.
More importantly, this scanning allows Barcode Hero to build up a database of information and will help them to personalize your shopping experience. “We want to attack in-store shopping,” co-founder Blake Scholl tells us. What’s nice about the app is that it’s simple. You can find Barcode Hero in the App Store here. Shopkick. Best Buy Rolls Out Shopkick’s Geo-Coupon System To 257 Stores. Best Buy is rolling out an in-store mobile couponing system in conjunction with a startup called shopkick.
The system will be in place in 187 stores by tomorrow and 257 stores by October 1. Earlier this month, we got a preview of how the system works (see video below). Instead of checking in, as you would with a geo app like Foursquare or Gowalla, shopkick automatically recognizes when someone with the shopkick app on their phone walks into a store. As MG wrote at the time: The minute you enter a Best Buy location, your phone recognizes it and you get points and a message that there are deals available at this location.