Sunday, September 26, 2010
Real Life Online Shopping
Out of the many different augmented reality apps and various other tie-ins to the internet of things concept, the app that stands out as being one of the most useful was the Android (now iPhone app too) ShopSavvy. It is a very user friendly app that transforms your phone's camera into a barcode scanner, allowing you to scan a product in and compare prices online as well as with stores in the surrounding area to your current location. It also allows for user feedback to be added to any item, so you can get customer reviews on just about any item and give your own reviews on anything you deem work commenting on. With all these function plus many I have not mentioned, ShopSavvy is easily one of the largest contributors to "the internet of things".
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This app sounds really interesting because it really meshes the Internet world and the real world. Sometimes it helps a lot to see and touch, in person, an item you are interested in rather than just looking at images online, and when you see items in a store, you can easily compare prices online to find the best deal. I wonder how this will affect stores. Will people go to a store just to look at things, then buy them online at a better price? Maybe stores will have to lower their prices.
ReplyDeleteThis is cool and interesting and about the internet of things but doesn't answer the question of how if might contribute to solving our most pressing problems. While shopping can be a prob...
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about this concept of purchasing based off of price point I would also look to location. How far is a person willing to go to purchase something for a lesser price.
ReplyDeleteI think that for the smaller items this will not really have an effect on stores, but when it comes to larger items, that could really threaten some people. My family used to own a retail furniture store and we had people occasionally come in to get price quotes and receive customer service. These people would then go and purchase the furniture they want from an online outlet store. When our sales people found out this was happening they were definitely on the look out and would be careful how much information they would give out. Ultimately I do think that people will look for the better deal but will still come in to a store for the customer sales person relation. I would rather be told about something I am going to purchase than read reviews online.