Free barcode scanner and the invisible price save money.
“If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it.” The saying is from a famous bit of social lore. It isn’t a quote. Although, the saying was once attributed to American financier J.P. Morgan. Whether or not it’s true, is a matter of opinion. Most of the time it is important to know the price of something. Even if the price tag is missing, a free barcode scanner could save the day. This is where the trusty price tag comes into play. A price tag informs. It is the indicator for the terms of a deal. Or a potential warning to save the budget and keep moving. Either way, the price tag matters.
A free barcode scanner is helpful too. However, its use is more of a backup plan. As mentioned earlier, if the price tag is missing, then a free barcode scanner would be the next best thing. In fact, many shoppers would go on an aisle by aisle search for a barcode scanner. Back in the day. Now there’s the hunt for a store associate, or the next option which is to bring the item to the checkout for a quick price scan there. In both cases, learning the price is the main objective.
Why would someone care so much about the price of something? It’s really a rhetorical question. There are few that can live a life where money is no object. In fact, that is one reason a store like Walmart is so popular. The promise of lower prices. A free barcode scanner was once a part of that process.
Free Barcode Scanner
By now it should be apparent that this article isn’t about taxes. And it’s not about inflation. Although, inflation impacts the price of most things. Furthermore, price is the main focus of many consumers. In fact, the price tag is where all consumers find common ground. If not for the price tag, how can anyone know if something is for sale? The free barcode scanner was a great idea, but after searching twenty aisles or more, it becomes obvious that most stores have done away with the free barcode scanner. Except for the ones at the checkout.
Furthermore, it happened over the space of a few years. It’s difficult to speculate on the change because it was hardly noticeable. And this is where things take a strange turn. There used to be price tags. These days it’s a gamble. Maybe the item has a price tag. Maybe not. Or maybe another retailer has gone to the, “If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it”, business model. This might be old fashioned observation, but reading bar codes isn’t a part of most school curriculums. Similarly, there is a notion that having no price tag, is a benefit for the consumer.
With this in mind, it comes down to the smart phone. Everyone has one. Well, most everyone has one. Of course, not everyone has the same data plan. In fact, some smart phone users are frugal with their data plans. In other words, they don’t get frivolous with their data. And still others may have a smart phone, but only use it as a phone. This is common among the elderly. The idea of downloading an app, and going through the usual signing up process, just to know the price of something, is a no go.
The Invisible Price Save Money
The first defense of the no price tag business model is that it saves money. But the question is, for who? Retailers would have consumers believe that every little change is for the benefit of the consumer. After all, ‘the customer is always right’. American department store entrepreneur Marshall Field is sometimes credited with coining that phrase. That suggests that once upon a time the customer’s experience held value. Nevertheless, an invisible price, saves money. Enter dynamic pricing.
It takes time for an employee to put new price tags on old merchandise. If it’s going out of style, it might get a clearance price. That applies to non perishable consumer goods. Furthermore, it means the clearance aisle at Walmart will have quite a few useful, cool things, with a lower price. We know it’s a lower price because the price tag has that exciting word Clearance stamped on it; and then just below that cool declaration is the reduced price. No free barcode scanner needed. In fact, the smartphone can also stay in the pocket. This one’s on the house.
Save Money Free Barcode scanner
Back over in the clothes section though, there is about to be an exit without a purchase. Grandma and Granpa were looking at the clothes and couldn’t find a single pair of pants with a price tag. (They don’t know about the app, and Granpa doesn’t even have a smart phone.) Now they are leaving to go to that other store with price tags on the merchandise. Price tags are budget friendly. Furthermore, they are an indication of a static, or stable, price.
It’s another sign of the changing times. Dynamic pricing. Retailers claim to never do it. However, with a price tag, it’s easier to keep an eye on things. Offer a free barcode scanner in an app and things start to get fuzzy. Apps are a dynamic experience in that they update frequently. Prices that update frequently are dynamic, and not an experience most consumers trust. In an age where signing up for a free app is the norm, most consumers aren’t looking for more confusion and less value.
Invisible Price
Furthermore, why bother with in person shopping if there are no prices marked on the merchandise? If signing up in an app, and getting a free account and then setting up the username and the password, and then going through the email verification process for confirmation that a real human is actually trying to get the price on that jacket is what must happen to get the price on that jacket, it’s not very practical. Even after all the hassle of creating yet another online account, all future price inquiries will need the free barcode scanner.
Hopefully it’s just a passing trend. Or maybe it’s a test to see how accepting the consumer will be. However it doesn’t take many lost customers to see that it may not be all that popular. If something is worth the price, then the price doesn’t need hiding. If a retailer appreciates its customers then it doesn’t need hard to find, dynamic pricing. One thing most consumers know from experience is that once the price goes up it seldom comes down. Thanks for reading.
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