‘Tis the season to engage shoppers.
And the folks at Amazon.com aren’t going to miss an opportunity to make the most of the mobile platform.
This week, Amazon announced a new price comparison app for the iPhone that, according to the online retail giant, “provides customers the easiest way yet to compare in-store prices with the low prices from Amazon.com and other online merchants.”
With an expansive reach covering toys to consumer electronics, users of the new app can simply scan a barcode, take a pic via their smartphone, or just say or type the name of the product and right back will come an instant price for that very product on Amazon. If so inclined, you can click the item, check-out from your phone, and have it shipped directly to you.
With comparison shopping more important than ever to customers in a not-so-hot economy, it would appear that the only folks who wouldn’t like this app are retailers who likely price their items higher than Amazon.
Without question, Amazon has a lot to be excited about, particularly with regard to the popularity of mobile shopping. Earlier this year, Amazon reported that its customers had spent more than $1 billion in products purchased by a mobile device during the past twelve months.
“This app makes it incredibly easy to quickly compare prices on millions of items before making a purchase,” said Sam Hall, director of Amazon Mobile. “We’ve worked hard to have low prices at Amazon, and we like it when customers comparison shop so they know they’re getting a good deal. We hope this app will empower customers to shop with confidence this holiday and any other day.”
