Retail intelligence company Cogenta, the company behind the NetPrice real-time pricing intelligence service for retailers, has launched a mobile price comparison service called Sccope for consumers.
To use the service, consumers text the name of the product they are interested in to the Shortcode 62555, for example, Mario Kart for the Wii. Sccope then texts the shopper back with details of the price of the product in question from relevant high street retailers.
Sccope searches and compares prices available for wide range of products, including consumer electronics, console and PC games, books and childrens toys. Top retailers on the site include Amazon, John Lewis, Waterstones, Currys, Dixons, Tesco Direct and Borders. Sccopes back-office system means that information is updated quickly as and when prices and stock details are altered.
In fact, when we tried the above example, there were two possible results, so within around one minute, we received a text listing both, and inviting us to text back with the number of the result we wanted to know about. This we did, and within a few seconds, we received another text showing prices for the game at eight stores, including Dixons, Tesco, Amazon and Dabs. Prices are shown in ascending order, with the lowest price at the top of the screen, and texts are charged at the standard operator rate.
The more detailed you can be with the initial message, in terms of the product name and description, the more accurate the results will be. This applies to the extent that if you want to know the price of a book, you can, should you know it, simply text the books ISBN number to Sccope. Searches can also be carried out on the Sccope website.