According to Scanlife (and based on the scanning of barcodes through their ScanLife system) UPC barcode scanning doubled in 2011 from 2000.
On their application alone, nearly 1,000,000 UPC barcodes were scanned in the first 3 quarters of 2011. This number does not take into consideration the scanning of UPC or EAN barcodes with other barcode scanner apps like Red Laser or Shop Savvy which are extremely popular and have a huge install base. According to ScanLife’s data, 63% of the people scanning are between the ages of 25 and 44 and the gender is 43% female and 57% male. This is a huge target audience and comprises the biggest group of consumers.
In addition to having your products listed on a smart phone barcode scanning application, using Google Merchant also has Search Engine Optimization and product visibility benefits.
Smart Phone Barcode Scanners
There are a lot of barcode scanners available for smartphones. The majority of the applications are for iPhones, however more and more are coming to Windows, Android and other phones with a camera and internet access.
Our opinion is that the 2 best applications are ShopSavvy and Red Laser. ShopSavvy has added a lot of great features to their scanner including a title search making it one of our personal favorites. Your customers enter in the name or manufacturer and a variety of items come up to help them narrow the search and locate the item locally (if applicable) or on-line. http://shopsavvy.mobi/
RedLaser has one of the better scanners however you need to have the barcode graphic in front of you in order to scan it. This application doesn’t allow for search by name. It reads EAN, UPC, ISBN and the latest version will also work as a QR barcode reader. http://redlaser.com/
All of these applications pull data from a variety of sources, however the common denominator to all of these applications is that they pull from the Google Merchant Services Database.
We have created a step-by-step tutorial showing you how easy it is to add your products in order to show up on many of the smart phone applications.
This tutorial is available from our sister company, Media Media Inc. and is available for $9.95
Need help with setting up your Google Merchant account? We can help. Call Phil Peretz at 510-861-1867 for a consultation and price quote.