ShopSavvy – A Savvy Shopper's Essential Tool

Set the stage – You are shopping in a local retailer and find just what you’re looking for. But, the question remains – is it a good price? You wish you had done a price research before heading to the mall, but you didn’t. Now what? Bar code scanning to the rescue!

What’s that? Bar code scanning for shoppers? What can they do for us “average joe” shoppers? Aren’t they simply a store’s method of keeping track of products and inventory?

Not anymore! It’s time to take a fresh new look at bar codes as they are fast becoming a savvy shopper’s best friend. All that’s needed is a smartphone with a camera and a bar code scanner app. With these tools, any on-the-go shopper can quickly find out just how good that product price is, and what other shoppers are saying about it. But what app to get? How about ShopSavvy?

What is ShopSavvy? ShopSavvy is a barcode reader that assists consumers locate, research and buy products. But it is so much more than “just” a barcode reader. It is currently the largest mobile shopping community out there whose primary purpose is to deliver real-time pricing, inventory, reviews and product information to it’s more than eight million users. In other words, ShopSavvy is an on-the-go shopper’s best friend. So go on, try it out! With over 22 million – yes that’s million – products already in the ShopSavvy system, the odds are in your favor that you will find “all there is to know” about a product with a quick ShopSavvy barcode scan.

Have Smartphone, Will ShopSavvy – You do need a smartphone to use ShopSavvy. ShopSavvy’s apps for iPhone, Android and Window Phones make it a smartphone user’s versatile, oh-so-handy shoppers’s tool.

• iPhone App – Many of the app’s recent “negative dings” are a result of the previous version’s mandatory account registration controversy. The most recent app update on April 20th removed this requirement, allowing users to scan without an account. More on registration requirements later in this post. Don’t let these negative comments stop you from giving this app a go.
• Android App – Rated one of the best Android barcode apps by Gizmodo.
• Windows Phone App – Requires Windows Phone 7.5 or higher to run ShopSavvy.

How does SmartSavvy work? Download the free ShopSavvy app to your smartphone. Then head on out to the stores because ShopSavvy is ready to lead you to the best prices around town. Simply aim the camera at any product’s barcode, wait for the beep and ShopSavvy will provide you with a list of online and local store prices as well as available product reviews. You decide where to buy.

 

Another Useful Scan Idea – Have a product at home that you need to purchase again? Want to know where to find it’s best price? Scan it’s barcode at home and know before you shop. Maybe you can find that 40 pound bag of dog food for less online – and have it delivered to your door!

Oh no, no scan results! Don’t have a barcode, or the barcode is not providing product results? Then type in keywords and complete your search this way. Keyword searches can be especially useful when searching items in major chain retailers. They might have their own unique barcode for an item, so when you barcode scan that item, nothing comes up. Yet, you know this product is found elsewhere! Simply type in the product name, and you might just find this same product, just under a different barcode number.

No Account Required But - ShopSavvy does not require users to create an account to utilize the barcode scan feature and receive standard online price, local price, and product review information. However, if you want to edit product information, add photos or prices, access their history, create lists or wallets, or utilize other enhanced ShopSavvy features, you will need to create an account. Creating a personal account is easy, and it’s free. You can link through your Facebook account or input the necessary data if you don’t have a Facebook account, or do not want to link to Facebook.

To Register or Not To Register, That is the Question - Why does ShopSavvy require account registration to access it’s advanced features? They have a very good reason – to better enhance the overall user experience. ShopSavvy uses consumer inputted data to help fuel it’s product details. Account registration will help the ShopSavvy people weed out that “1%” who feel the need to muck things up with intentionally bad information. Sadly not everyone plays nice in the sandbox. User accounts will enable ShopSavvy to filter out those who aren’t playing nice.

Advanced ShopSavvy Features – As mentioned before, ShopSavvy isn’t “just” a bar code scanner. It helps consumers find more real-time deals at better prices, where these deals are located, and even helps shoppers buy them. But remember – you must have an account to access these enhanced features.

•  ShopSavvy Deals – Find more locations to get items for less. Simply click on “Deals” and a plethora of deals will be right at your fingertips. Learn where the coupon codes and rebates are, know where this weekend’s sales will be, and more. How easy is that! Know before you go which brick and mortar stores have the best deals. You can even view your local Groupon deals!

• ShopSavvy Wallet – Possibly the fastest way to purchase on the go! Found the best price online? Skip the retailer’s website and pay for products directly from ShopSavvy, using information you set up in your ShopSavvy Wallet. Paying is as simple as sliding to pay with Wallet.

• SavvyListings – SavvyListings enables individuals to list and sell their own goods directly through their smartphone. With a simple scan and a few taps, list and sell your unwanted items through the vast ShopSavvy consumer network. ShopSavvy even suggests prices to help sellers quickly unload their unwanted items

• History - ShopSavvy keeps track of your prior scans. Want to find a price on an item you scanned last week? Just go to ShopSavvy History and pull up that item. ShopSavvy then gives you options to find that particular item either online or in a local store, as well as any reviews that product might  have

• People Power - Found a great price? Loved a particular product? Then help the ShopSavvy shopping community and submit your own product reviews, product photos, product titles and product prices.

Barcode Scanning Controversy – Note that there is some controversy about using bar code scanners at local brick and mortar stores. Larger sites like Amazon may provide you with product reviews and pricing information, but this information comes at a “price”  - namely intelligence gathering of brick and mortar product prices. Some may consider this an unfair advantage. One recommendation is to scan sparingly and stick to the larger brick and mortar stores, not at local mom and pop retailers. A fair price is nice, but we also want to keep our local small business owners in business.

Stick around – there’s more coming! Future ShopSavvy releases for tablets and the web will allow ShopSavvy users to create shopping lists on these devices and then link them directly to a mobile devices. You will be able to track your shopping, purchasing and shipping history across all three devices. No more repeat purchases because you forgot you already bought that color tee-shirt! No more forgetting the brand name of your favorite  sneakers you need to replace.

Are you a ShopSavvy shopper?

Do you use a barcode scanner app when shopping? What do you think of ShopSavvy or barcode scanning in general? Let us know in the Comments section below.

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First barcode image by Chiarra Mara - All other images from ShopSavvy