New retail technology by IBM lets shoppers scan items to purchase with a smartphone and then head directly to a self-checkout station to pay

The IBM Mobile shopper app runs on the Google Android and Apple iOS.

(Credit: IBM)

IBM is introducing its own in-store shopping companion app.

Dubbed the “digital shopping assistant,” this mobile app allows consumers to scan items they want to purchase at retail stores with their smartphone and then use an IBM self-checkout station to pay.

“Retailers can now deliver a more personalized shopping experience that is less of a chore and more of a convenience for consumers,” IBM Retail Store Solutions vice president John Gaydac said in a statement. “By enabling consumers to scan and check-out a wide variety of products at their own pace, retailers can not only create a more customized shopping environment, but also increase in-store traffic.”

The app runs on Google Android and Apple iOS and uses Honeywell Mobile bar code decoding software that lets shoppers scan any type of bar code found on retail items. Along with the app, shoppers will also get digital coupons, loyalty programs and special promotions at the IBM self-checkout stations. This “digital shopping assistant” app is available as of today.

There’s no doubt that developing mobile software is now one of the key concentrations of tech companies, with the influx of mobile apps and payment systems and digital wallets. In fact, areport on U.S. patents last month found that about 21 percent of all patents in the first quarter of this year were for mobile technologies, with Samsung, Microsoft, and IBM leading the charge.

One of the most interesting things about the tablet market these days—besides the fact that Apple basically owns it—is that in the very near future, I believe there will be two very different business models that will drive tablets into the broader consumer market.

The first model, the one Apple uses today, is very traditional. In this case, Apple makes the iPad and then sells it through its retail stores, its online store, and various third-party resellers like Best Buy and Target. If the iPad has a 4G modem in it, it is also available through carriers like AT&T and Verizon. Samsung and other Android vendors also use this business model and whenWindows 8 tablets come out, most of them will sell those tablets in a similar way.

A second business model, called subsidization, is also unfolding and is already in use by the carriers to sell cell phones. Apple, for example, sells an iPhone to the carriers for somewhere around $600 but they in turn only charge the customer $200. They basically subsidize the upfront cost of the phone and earn back this cost by tying a user to a two-year service contract to amortize their cost of the iPhone to Apple. In fact, carriers have been using this subsidization model to sell phones for a long time and when the iPad came out, some customers expected the carriers to subsidize the iPad similarly. That did not happen, however, and customers basically buy the iPad at full retail price.

IBM has unveiled three packages of services and software to help organizations analyze their data for profit and improved efficiency.

The signature solutions, as IBM calls these offerings, go beyond generic analysis software to address three different specific tasks: detecting financial fraud, predicting consumer behavior and estimating financial risk.

As the world becomes more connected through trillions of sensors, the ability to transform data into insight that can better monitor, manage and predict potential issues and opportunities is critical. Each startup participating at the SmartCamp Global Finals has created software that is designed to analyze large volumes of data. The finalists are:  

• BitCarrier: BitCarrier’s traffic management solutions analyze real-time traffic information, providing current travel times, estimations on congestion rates and accident alerts (winner, SmartCamp Barcelona).
• C-B4 Context Based 4Casting: CB4 has created a context-based system for identifying and analyzing hidden data patterns in large-scale data warehouses. The system is particularly suited to the retail trade and customer relations management (winner, SmartCamp Tel Aviv).
• ConnectM: ConnectM’s machine-to-machine technology uses advanced analytics to collect information from disparate systems to provide business intelligence. The solutions are developed specifically for the telecommunications, utilities and transportation industries (winner, SmartCamp Bangalore).
• IDXP: IDXP’s consumer behavior solution installs sensors in stores and shopping carts to help retailers understand consumer behavior (winner, SmartCamp Rio de Janeiro).

• Localytics: Localytics’ real-time analytics service provides makers of mobile phone and tablet applications with a better understanding of peoples mobile application preferences and tendencies (winner, SmartCamp New York City).
• Palmap: Palmap’s mapping solution provides mobile users with instant information for indoor activities such as navigating airports and shopping malls (winner, SmartCamp Shanghai).

• Profitero: Profitero helps online retailers maximize profits via competitor analytics (winner, SmartCamp London).
• SecureWaters: SecureWaters’ patented technology continuously monitors, detects and identifies toxins in surface water. An early warning alarm system alerts clients to potential issues (winner, SmartCamp Austin).
• SkinScan: SkinScan’s mobile application enables users to scan the moles on their bodies to measure skin cancer threat levels. They also offer a cloud infrastructure for medical histories of patients and doctors (winner, SmartCamp Istanbul).