Need to know... Smartphone applications

Which retailers have smartphone applications?

Net-a-Porter, Oasis and Ocado have all recently launched applications for the iPhone, while Tesco and PayPal are opening their data to developers, hoping that they will build applications for websites and mobile gadgets.

Why target smartphones now?

Smartphones and portable gaming devices with internet are rapidly gaining market share. Unlike earlier mobiles, these devices offer constant, high-speed internet access and allow tasks beyond basic telecommunications. Handset manufacturers have encouraged third-party developers to create software applications that give new functionality to their devices and have created “app stores” to encourage users to download and install them.

What is involved?

Many early retail mobile applications simplify the user interface of e-commerce sites to make them more accessible on small screens, but they are likely to evolve into more sophisticated tools.

Mobile phones’ cameras can scan barcodes. Tesco.com head of R&D Nick Lansley imagines consumers adding groceries to their next online shop by scanning empty containers before binning them. And GPS makes phones location-aware, so geographically-targeted search results and advertising are possible.

Who is doing this sort of thing?

Visual product search application SnapTell was acquired by Amazon subsidiary A9 last month. It uses image recognition technology to link items that users have photographed to retailers’ product information.

One mobile price comparison application, ShopSavvy, allows Google Android and Apple iPhone users to scan barcodes in one store in order to compare prices on the same product with nearby competitors or e-tailers.

What’s the catch?

Applications are generally platform-specific. As the market fragments among a growing list of devices, the cost of developing separate applications becomes prohibitive, and the risk of focusing on the wrong emerging platform grows.

While it’s possible for retailers to seek contractors to write bespoke applications for them, they might not have to. Many mobile applications are built at relatively low cost by entrepreneurs or enthusiasts.

To facilitate this, many organisations now provide application programming interfaces – tools that let programmes written by outsiders access the organisation’s data under controlled conditions. Amazon, Best Buy, Tesco and PayPal are taking this step.