Portaltech Updates StripeyLines Shopping App

eCommerce systems integrator and consultancy Portaltech has enhanced its StripeyLines iPhone application with the official release of StripeyLines V1.0. Originally launched at the end of 2009 in beta, StripeyLines is a shopping companion for bargain people who want to ensure they are getting the best deal for a product, whether online or on the high street.

StripeyLines enables shoppers to scan the barcode of goods in-store to compare pricing, or to check product and customer reviews. Shoppers can also use the app to create wishlists of products they want to buy at a later date. For example, a user could use the Wishlist function to create their weekly food shopping list by scanning everything they throw away. The app also links to Facebook and Twitter to share information with friends. 

The app can also be used to link a scanned CD to iTunes and listen to the CD in the shop via the phone. The customer then has the option to choose to buy in store, download the track to their iPhone from iTunes, or go to Amazon or Google to check pricing and customer ratings. 

All items scanned using the app can be synchronised with a dedicated StripeyLines website, allowing the user to continue their research online later. A recent report by Eurostat found that 64% of customers are using the Internet to research a product and 50% of customers use the Internet to browse before purchasing in store.

Portaltech is reaching out to all major UK retailers to get involved in providing price and product data for StripeyLines. The company is keen to ensure that users of the application have all the latest retailer data, barcodes and pricing to inform their decision making process, turning browsers into purchasers.
The company says it can also build retailer ‘plug-ins’ to provide retailer-specific functions. This could be as simple as providing promotional pop-up ads or vouchers at the point of purchase, or creating a brand building, or m-commerce plug-in for apparel retailers who want to cross-sell a look or collection.

“The plug-in feature on StripeyLines means that retailers dont need to build their own iPhone application,” says Portaltech CEO, Andrew Walker. “Instead we can just create a web application as a plug-in to StripeyLines, which is then beamed to the StripeyLines iPhone app. For example, if a wine merchant wanted to have an application that recommended wine based on what an iPhone user had scanned in a supermarket, all they would need to do is create a website that compared wines. The location of this website would then be beamed to the iPhone and when the user scanned some wine, StripeyLines would give them the opportunity to run the plug-in. This system could be applied to any product category for cross-selling purposes.”

Portaltech believes that mobile will be an increasingly important channel in retailing. The company’s Head of Brand & Retail, Rachel Wilkinson, says: “Mobile phones are now being used for product information and browsing whilst shoppers are out and about or when sitting in a high street coffee shop. Retailers mustn’t ignore this adapting behaviour, or see price checking as a threat, but harness it.

“These are latent purchasers who simply need an enabler like StripeyLines to convert them from browsers to purchasers. Mobile phones and devices should be utilised to leverage this opportunity and to join up the multi-channel experience. We can help retailers to develop an engaging solution, whether that’s a standalone mobile commerce app or a plug in to StripeyLines.”