eBay has added items from its eBay.com and Half.com sites to its recently acquired RedLaser application.
This means the price-comparison app, which previously pulled listings from Google and TheFind, will now display items from eBay.com and Half.com if the product a user scans is well-priced on either of these sites—a fact that could help boost sales for eBay and Half.com sellers.
eBay developers also added the ability for RedLaser to scan QR codes so shoppers can get links to videos, read product reviews about the item they're looking for, visit the item's Web site, contact customer support and even add events like concerts to their calendars.
"Our goal is to help consumers shop on their mobile phones," says Steve Yankovich, vice president of eBay Mobile and Platform Business Solutions. "By offering consumers a host of reasons to use our apps, they are more likely to engage with eBay to purchase items from our marketplace."
To use the app, a shopper simply scans the barcode of an item using their mobile device. RedLaser then returns similar products that are priced well, so the shopper can see if the item they're considering is a good deal. According to eBay, the app has been downloaded 5 million times.
eBay has high expectations from mobile apps like RedLaser, and predicts it will make $1.5 billion in sales this year through this and other mobile devices.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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