eCommerce consulting and development firm Portaltech has unveiled StripeyLines, an iPhone application that enables shoppers to swipe the barcode on goods they are considering for a price comparison but also saves these goods and profiles as a wish list on the StripeyLines website for later research and evaluation.
For retailers and shoppers alike, says Portaltech, StripeyLines can be customised to provide a number of useful features. In the run-up to Christmas or during sales, it could be used to allow visitors to affiliated retail stores to touch and feel products while on the shop floor then use their iPhone to scan the barcode of their desired products and collect them later at a customer collection point, or scan them and add them to online wish lists. Alternatively, in-store, or later over a coffee, shoppers can review what theyve scanned to make an informed decision and perform further research before buying the items from their iPhone or desktop PC.
StripeyLines search allows consumers to scan any standard product barcode to gain access to generic images and details either via an adapted version of the retailers catalogue, or through look-up search engines such as Amazon, eBay, iTunes and Google. The shopper can choose to carry out a number of different actions on a scanned item. For example, StripeyLines allows shoppers to search for the item on Tesco.com and add it to their online Tescos Grocery account shopping basket.
Numerous other actions are in the pipeline for StripeyLines, including weight management. Having scanned a product the user plans to eat or drink, the app will update how much the nutritional value of that product contributes to their daily allowance and calculate the number of calories they have remaining.
Retailer specific barcodes (the shorter 8 digit barcodes found on own-brand goods) are being added to the StripeyLines search as retailers make them available. The first retailer to provide this data is Iceland Foods, with data also being made available from Tesco through its TJAM initiative.
For retailers that want to make the most of the mobile commerce revolution without developing their own iPhone application, Polartech says that StripeyLines will enable them to develop simple plug-ins that are beamed to shoppers iPhones and highlight certain lines and promotions when related items are scanned.
iPhone users are early adopters, technology savvy and are eager to embrace new lifestyle options and services, says Portaltech CTO, Paul Tough. They access the Internet to look up specific information online more than any other Smartphone users, and there are a lot of them. As such, with the rapid consumer adoption of the iPhone, retailers have been encouraged to consider mobile-enabled commerce and the opportunities that it can offer.
Tough adds that StripeyLines has been built from the ground up to be totally extensible and to provide third-party retailers and solution providers with an interface to plug-in additional functionality such as the offer of home delivery, the delivery of digital promotions and an extension of self-checkout all of which evoke brand value and establish retailer differentiation.
As its a plug-in extension to their existing web technology, retailers dont have to learn about a new technology and they can update and disseminate information in a true multi-channel environment, enabling them to merge the online and in-store experience so it is seamless and convenient, he says.
The StripeyLines application is available to download for free from the Apple App Store. StripeyLines is also compatible with the iPod touch, however users will need to type in the barcode number in the absence of the iPhones built-in camera.