The consumer market is continually becoming more sophisticated with new models of business in many cases supported by the use of information technologies: actors unknown a few years ago as Groupon,Groupalia, Letsbonus or BuyVIPthey are achieving significant business figures supported by a business model that allows them to carry promotions of interest to thousands or millions of users at a very low cost.
Over the next few years we will witness a new revolution in the consumer market caused by the emergence of the massive use of smartphones and mobile applications. Tools like Google Shopper,Shopkick, RedLaser -still to arrive in Spain- have a disruptive potential that is difficult to quantify. In the US there are data that point to a decline in sales in stores at street level. Consumers exhibit a new attitude using the traditional store simply as a showcase and tester for products that they later purchase on the Internet.
Applications like Google Shopper will only facilitate this attitude by allowing us to scan barcodes, compare products and instantly buy on the Internet any item from the same point of sale. What will happen then with the traditional stores that cannot compete on prices with outlets .com? The inevitable will surely happen: a mass constructive destruction that will destroy old business models.
The power of object tagging technologies is enormous and mobile apps are going to help you discover it. With a single reading of a barcode or QR code, the user will be able to find out what is the best price for that product or what opinions it deserves. But also, you can share it on social networks, recommend it to your friends and access special promotions. This type of assistance applications at the point of sale represent a huge market opportunity and, at the same time, a huge challenge for traditional commerce.
Disclosure: From Mobbitat we have developed a SaaS platform (Mobbitat Brand ) to facilitate the deployment of mobile applications for the point of sale for manufacturers and brands.