Mobile Phones to Empower Buyers

It used to be that buyers would need to go from one store to another to compare prices of the same products. Nowadays, all that a customer needs to do is to point his mobile phone at a barcode. This will give him a real-time pricing of the same products from different stores. 

This is what tech observers call ‘showrooming.’ And while it has empowered regular consumers, this is causing a massive headache among retails who are now forced to engage in a price war. 

The phenomenon is already big in the US, thanks to mobile apps. In Australian, however, showrooming is only starting to catch on and a few retailers like Woolworths have begun trying it. 

Big W has also joined the fray by launching a mobile that allows customers to scan the price of a similar product and then compare it to the price offered by the retailer. In the near future, Big W’s expansion plans a comparison of more than 60,000 products. 

Big W spokeswoman Clare Buchanan said its service would allow consumers to track the progress of their orders via SMS. They will also receive updates in their mobile phone. 

Another early adopter of the technology is Sportsgirl. According to brand manager Prue Thomas, getting involved in mobile commerce is a natural thing to do, given its growth. 

According to Paul Budde, it is only a matter of time before Aussie consumers start using their mobile phones to compare prices. Because smartphones now enjoy a penetration rate of 50 percent, it is reasonable to predict that mobile phones will empower more Aussie consumers. 

Budde is a telecom consultant from BuddeComm.