There are a number of apps (Twenga, RedLaser, Save Benjis and others) for performing on-the-go price comparisons.
You either search by product name or barcode, but the pitch for them all is the same: you’re out shopping, in a bricks & mortar retail store when you see a product you want. You take out your iPhone, scan the barcode or type in a product name and check the price, either directly with online stores like Amazon or using Google Products.
The developers of the apps sell them cheaply, the real revenue is in the affiliate commissions to be earned.
Whenever a technology comes that tips the balance unfairly (away from the bricks and mortar store which are being turned into a free showroom for online merchants) there are a number of ways for the ‘wronged party’ to handle the threat.
- Do nothing
This is probably what most b&m stores will do – this is a technical threat that they’ve not planned for, places like Borders and Waterstones have been haemorrhaging market share to Amazon for years.
- Fight dirty – mobile signal jammers in stores.
Great way to come across as the bad guy, a technical roadblock that is likely to inconvenience more people than necessary.
- Fight fair – Treat a price comparison as the buying signal it really is
Given that these apps can (and some do already) know your location when you send that request, the fact that you’re looking for a lower price could be signalled to the retailer you’re standing in. A simple query to their systems could return ‘our best possible price’, not necessarily beating everyone – there’s some value to immediacy and not paying a shipping charge after all. Then just take your phone to the counter to get the item at the reduced price.
I understand there are technical issues with this – not every price comparison app or bricks & mortar retailer would want to take part, but the larger stores stand to lose the most from doing nothing.
Image credit timailius via Creative Commons on Fickr
