Wired: Camera Phones Help Buyers Beware

Several software vendors such as Scanbuy (as well as some independent programmers in their spare time) have created applications that let camera phone users scan bar codes to retrieve related product information, or even coupons from online databases.

MarketingWonk hinted in the past that this trend toward seamless online access would only accelerate and provide fresh opportunities for marketers, as well as new challenges. We're not yet in the theoretical perfect market, where everyone gets access to all the information they need to make the right decisions, but there's no doubt the Internet keeps increasing transparency and liquidity. Marketers will face a world in which consumers know detailed cost and margin structures at the moment and location of purchase.