Retail Price Comparison App with a Barcode Scanner and Discount Lottery

Client

The Client is an ambitious start-up operating an online loyalty program enriched with gamification elements which helps customers in the UK to make their shopping experience more engaging.

Challenge

The goal of ScienceSoft's retail app development team was to develop a mobile app which the registered participants can download and activate on their mobile devices while shopping. The app must identify items from a particular retailer or store by reading barcodes and then provide the user with an opportunity to spin a virtual wheel of fortune to win freebies and discounts for the selected product.

Solution

The Client decided to go for the two major mobile platforms – Android and iOS. The iOS client side was implemented in the course of 2 months by one iOS developer and one testing specialist and involved integration with the backend and server provided by the Client. It is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is also optimized for iPhone 5.

The combined efforts of 1 Android developer and 1 QA specialist during 1.5 months resulted in a fully-functional Android product satisfying all the initial requirements. The application is compatible with devices featuring Android versions 2.2 and higher.

Both versions have a screen where a user can scan a barcode (EAN 13 barcodes only) and search a product by it. The product identification scanner allows to compare in-store products and prices on the go with other offers both online and offline.

The app users can test their luck and try to get the selected product for free by spinning a colorfully designed and animated wheel. They bet a small amount of money from their previously topped up account. Should the spin be unsuccessful the stake is converted into a discount on future purchases from the registered retailers.

Results

The application was successfully developed and is now available on Google Play and iTunes. The project was accomplished on time and within the budget.

Technologies and Tools

The Android app version utilizes most standard tools such as Android SDK, ZXing, Android Fragments, JSON, Eclipse, Android animation, ADT emulator, Camera API, Canvas. For the iOS version: Mac OS X 10.7, iPhone 5.0 SDK, XCode 4.2 IDE, Objective-C 2. User interface: UIKit/CoreGraphics.

To enable the app to read barcodes ZXing library was used for both platforms. Using this library it is also possible to create apps capable of reading QR codes.