eBay Acquires RedLaser iPhone Barcode-scanner Application

Capturing a barcode

eBay just announced today that they are acquiring RedLaser, an iPhone application that lets you scan barcodes on products in stores and do immediate price comparisons online. Product search on mobile devices has dramatically increased recently as a result of consumers being more price conscious and the improvements in smartphone technology. Buying RedLaser is a great move that will make it even faster and easier for shoppers to see if they can get a better deal on a product if they buy it on eBay (something we’ve all done). This allows eBay to grab even more of those retail dollars that might have been spent in brick and mortar stores.

They are also talking about integrating the RedLaser technology into the eBay Selling application for the iPhone. Again, this will reduce the friction of conducting selling research, entering product information, and increase the velocity of listings. Faster listings + More listings = More revenue

eBay has already been investing seriously in mobile experiences, which has paid off tremendously. The CEO of eBay, John Donahoe, announced last month that they expect their app to “bring in $1.5 billion to $2 billion in transactions” this year. Pretty impressive and proof that investing in mobile is a smart move.

From eBay’s press release:

“With RedLaser’s innovative technology, eBay is continuing to help shoppers quickly find the best deals online, and eBay sellers will be able to list their items faster.”

You can download the free RedLaser iPhone app here. The video below shows the barcode scanning app in action.

YouTube – RedLaser 2.0: Realtime iPhone UPC barcode scanning