NeoMedia Technologies, Inc (NEOM)

[codes4real]

Consumers use smart phones to shop around as they shop
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2010

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-MobileShopping_29bus.ART.State.Edition1.249477b.html


Neustar gets honorable mention...

When a shopper is browsing the app for a jacket or sweater, recommendations of similar items in other price ranges will scroll across the bottom of the screen. In the store, the app reads the bar code on the tag and offers an expanded selection. And if a customer is signed on to his Patagonia account, the app will automatically remind him what he searched for in the past from that category.

Second-generation bar codes are showing up in stores planning more smart phone capabilities, said Matthew Valleskey, director of marketing for Neustar. The Virginia-based company is the registry for five- and six-digit numbers that consumers use to vote for American Idol contestants or for opting in to receive text message coupons.

"You're going to see more shoppers using their phones in stores to do comparative shopping," he said.

Neustar is working on standardizing the new bar codes, which are square instead of rectangular. Those require smart phones but also provide richer content, he said.