JUL 31, 2008
The lowest price? It's in your pocket.
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iPhone owners rejoice--the app store is live. And, for the most part, it's everything Apple promised. Among the myriad programs, games and tools, one particular application has caught my attention. It's called Checkout Smartshop. http://www.kigisoftware.com/Checkout.html. This nifty tool lets shoppers read product reviews, compare prices online---it even zeroes in on your location and lets you know if any nearby stores carry your product for a cheaper price. And how do you access this trove of information? Simply enter the UPC code of practically any product into the app's home screen. Marvelous. But the presence of a tool like this begs an important question: As it becomes increasingly easy to find a product for the cheapest available price, how long will it be before brick and mortar stores transform into giant display cases for items that can be bought elsewhere for less? In other words, how will chains like Best Buy continue to woo customers if a visit to their store leads me, in fact, back to my car or onto the web for that TV I've been lusting after? How will stores communicate to customers when they can no longer compete on price? I, for one, am eager to see what happens next.
