Monday, September 11, 2006

Scanbuy Uses Mobile Phone To Inform Consumers

I have talked about Scanbuy and their barcode and mobile phone application frequently on PP.

They have kept their company's focus on retrieving information on the Internet from physical world objects using a cell phone, and are doing a fantastic job of educating the public about physical world connection.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them introduce new features besides price comparison for this platform.

For example. What if one of the features is a coupon option. Put in barcode of a product and see if that brand has a coupon. Maybe make the consumer watch a 5 second clip in order to get the coupon. Would you try it for the more expensive items in the store?


From Chicago Tribune Scanbuy turns phone into shopping consultant

This Nokia S60 with Scanbuy Shopper software, a free download from Scanbuy of New York (www.scanbuy.com), gathers price comparisons, reviews and product info from the Web.

Whether you're pricing a jug of Tide detergent or an LCD television, Scanbuy Shopper consults PriceGrabber.com, Shopping.com and Amazon.com, among others, before displaying information on your cell phone's screen.


All you do is activate the Scanbuy Shopper program, then use the phone's touch pad to enter the product's eight-digit bar code found on the desired item's box. It works only with Java-enabled services from providers T-Mobile, Cingular and Sprint.

(Depending on the plan, each call will cost about 25 cents. Consult Scanbuy's Web site for a list of compatible phones.)

What other services (consumer, advertiser) you would like to see that involve a barcode besides price comparison or ordering?

Do you think mobile marketing companies will be coming to Scanbuy to use some of these applications?

Can you see how major brand would license this application to interact with their consumers?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Can you see how major brand would license this application to interact with their consumers?" Yes...but not until they settle or win the NEOM suit brought against them for patent infringement. What do you think, PP, am I right or wrong about this assessment?

No Name said...

Mobile marketing is taking much longer than expected to get adopted. This is starting to concern many corporations AND mobile marketing cos.

While I think scanning codes will be a huge industry some day, I think the timeline has to be pushed back by at least a year in the States.

With that being said, I don't see any major corporation risking their valued brand with a campaign that will take this type of time to implement, AND with any company that has been labeled a "going concern".

Brands are still trying to get their arms around text messaging, and I don't think they want to hear about barcodes, 2d code, downloads etc right now.

Another thing to consider, while mobile marketing is the next stage for advertising, the economy is starting to cool. Advertising is a cyclical business and that could play another factor in PWC adoption.

Anonymous said...

What about the timeline for Europe

Anonymous said...

Definitely seems Europe & Asia would be more likely places for the tech to be implemented--at least much sooner than U.S.. They've got the 3G phones, more cell-savvy users and a bit more open deck.

No Name said...

China Mobile is implementing with their own 2d code reading application.

Even Europe, that has a couple PWC cos , their timeline has been pushed back too.

Anonymous said...

What does this mean for Qode?

No Name said...

There are a number of 2d code reading applications in the market.

Creativity and usefulness of what each player's code can do, will separate the players.

I don't see codes getting traction solely for mobile marketing.

Chicken and egg theory once again.