Barcode scanning up 700% this year

 

here are some of the main findings from their report:

Health and beauty products were the most popular items among 1D (UPC) scans, with 21%. They were followed by groceries (14.4%), books (12.6%) and kitchen items (9.2%)

Half of barcode users are ages 35-45 and skew male (as smartphone/early adopter markets often do)

Android was the most popular smartphone platform, with 45% of barcode users. This is attributable to the pre-loaded barcode scanners on some devices and support from carriers like Verizon.

See more about the report here

Hacking for Facebook

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Hacking is an art, a science – and something that Facebook really wants to tap into. I’m in Austin, Texas tonight, for a 24 hour festival of hacking. The contestants are all very young, bright engineers from the University of Texas. Alex Leverington and I are here to compete to get a new hack – or product into production in less than 24 hours.

It seems like a huge task, but its a lot of fun. Facebook provide free tshirts, free food, free Pepsi and Red Bull.  They’re here to find great talent and perhaps the next new facebook!

We’re creating a new app called Crowdsource, which has close links with TapMap.

Starbucks and Startups

One of the good things about starting up a company in the US is the free rent in Starbucks! Well, it’s not free if you count the cost of many cups of coffee. However, free wifi, power outlets,  comfy couches and a great atmosphere for working makes Starbucks a great place to go when you’re unfunded.

Philip McNamara

TapMap
+1 510 684 7750
+353 (0)87 2106020

Coca Cola, Mars and Volvic

One thing we keep seeing from our statistics is that Coca Cola, Mars and Volvic are very high up in the ranks for what people are scanning. One reason is that these products are easy to find, and Coke’s mission is to “put a Coke within arm’s reach of every consumer in the world”  - thus making Coke very easy to find and scan! Retailers – TapMap makes it very easy to understand what mobile consumers are searching for – isin’t it time you put some of your products on the system? By not publishing, you’re not helping your customers find your products!

NACS Show Part 2

I’ve been here for two days now and I’m tired already. I’m excited by the prospect of hearing George W Bush speak tomorrow, and it should be very interesting.

The NACS  (National Association of Convenience Retailers) Show is all about convenience retailing, and there are hundreds of retailers, brands and manufacturers here. The reason I’m is here is to learn about the industry, and also a few of our European clients are here, and we love to learn about what they are up to and how we can help them sell more, using mobile devices.

What’s surprising here is the huge amount of money that brands are spending to get their products into stores – by the sizes of their stands, it really shows! Here are a few examples….

NACS Show

TapMap are at the NACS show in Atlanta, Georgia, with Topaz, Ireland’s leading convenience retailer. Lots of interesting people here, including Lance Armstrong!