Shoppers can use the application to scan bar codes and read product reviews. The application is available for free in the Android Market.

“The combination of a variety of factors including a recessionary economy have compelled consumers to become much more informed and deal-conscious shoppers,” said Barbary Brunner, chief marketing officer at PriceGrabber. “Increasingly, the Internet offers an overwhelming and sometimes confusing wealth of information and buying opportunities. 

“At PriceGrabber, we recognize that efficiency in getting the best price on the right product and feeling like you’ve made an educated purchase decision is very important to people and we’re dedicated to using the latest in technology across multiple platforms to help folks do this anywhere and anytime,” she said. 

“Our new Android app, as well as our iPhone and iPad apps, provide a great platform for a rich and robust on-the-go consumer shopping experience.”

PriceGrabber.com, part of Experian Interactive, is an online comparison shopping service that sees 23 million consumers per month searching and comparing information.

Price comparisons
Consumers can scan any product with a bar code and the Pricegrabber application will search its product catalog for the best price available from thousands of retailers.

In addition, shoppers can search by product name, UPC, naufacturer’s part number and by the most popular items.

Consumers can read product and expert reviews and calculate a product’s BottomLinePrice, which includes shipping and taxes through the GPS in the mobile device or manually entering a postal code.

Recently, PriceGrabber also launched an iPad application letting shoppers search, find and buy millions of products in more than 25 categories (see story).

“We make it a point to listen to our consumers and build new features based on their needs,” Ms. Brunner said. “With an increasing number of PriceGrabber users adopting Android devices, we knew it was important that we create a mobile app specific to this platform to respond to user demand.

“We are committed to continually innovating in response to new developments in the mobile technology space in order to provide consumers with the best set of smart shopping tools,” she said. “We know that at the end of the day, people want to get the best deal as quickly and confidently as possible so they have more time and resources for those folks and activities they really care about.”

Mobile purchases
Consumers can also click directly on the merchant’s Web site to make a purchase and find the best deal in PriceGrabber’s extensive product catalog with prices that update throughout the day.

Additionally, they can create a favorites list and save products of interest and come back at another time, as well as access the Gift Shaker to receive gift suggestions based on category and price.

“We are using various social media and communication tools to get the word out about our new Android application platform,” Ms. Brunner said. “But the most essential piece of our Android application communications campaign was building a great application.

“There are an enormous number of apps out there,” she said. “If consumers are excited to use the PriceGrabber Android application and using it is of value to them, they are going to tell their friends about it, who are going to tell friends.

“Viral word of mouth campaigns are one of the best ways to market a new product, but first you have to create a product that is worthwhile, and we definitely believe we’ve done just that.”

Final take
Rimma Kats, editorial assistant at Mobile Commerce Daily, New York.