Amazon Holiday Shopping App Makes You Think Twice About Brick-And-Mortar

New app makes you realize you could save money on Amazon.com

Nov 23 2010, 9:02am CST | by Mark Raby

Retailers thrive on impulse buying during the holiday shopping season, but before you take that little trinket to the cash register, Amazon wants you to realize you could save money buying online.

The new Price Check app lets users scan the UPC of any item they find in a store and then see if it's any cheaper on Amazon. If there's no UPC or it's in a locked display cabinet or something, users can also type in the product name, speak it into the phone's microphone, or take a picture of it.

"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," said Amazon's mobile czar Sam Hall.

Of course, online shopping takes a bigger bite out of the holiday shopping pie each and every years as customers continue to look for the best deals. Nothing will ever beat the instant gratification of going into a store and buying all your gifts for the holidays, but Amazon thinks that when you're in that moment, when you have the item in your hands, if you find out you can save up to 50% by buying it online, you'll put it down and sit through the time it takes to ship.

Another company stepping up to the same plate is Ebay, which just launched a very similar app. Take a photo of the UPC, and then take a look at all current Ebay auctions that are linked to that UPC.

Both online giants both already have mobile apps, but they're focused mainly on browsing a smartphone version of the existing site. This holiday season marks a stronger push to get customers to check specific items when they're already in the place of business of another, brick-and-mortar store.

"We listened to our 13 million-plus mobile app users and we've updated our eBay iPhone app to be a one-stop shop," said Ebay mobile VP Steve Yankovich in a statement.

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Mark Raby
Based in New York City, Mark follows the consumer electronics industry like a hawk. A published book author, he has a particular affinity for 3D technology and video games, and as such will surely be in the market for a new pair of glasses soon. Mark can be contacted directly at mark@i4u.com.