Rob Veres, general manager of RedLaser
Bargain hunting has gone mobile. The eBay-owned smartphone app RedLaser, which allows users to scan product barcodes to instantly generate a list of sellers and prices both online and in local stores, is altering the way we shop by (for better or worse) turning bricks-and-mortar stores in showrooms for the vast online commercial universe. Downloaded more than 22 million times, RedLaser, led by its general manager, Rob Veres, 36, sees itself as more than just a pocket-sized price-checker. Partnerships with retailers like Best Buy and Toys”R”Us involving things like location-specific deals, recommendations and in-app payment options make RedLaser an example of the brave new world of commerce that retailers will have to learn to navigate — a tangled hybrid of the physical and mobile realms.