Augmented Reality Makes Shopping More Personal

Credit: IBM ResearchIt's no secret: Shoppers want to get in-store product information on their mobile devices. 

Developers at IBM Research are capitalizing on this trend by creating a new augmented reality mobile shopping app that will give in-store shoppers instant product details and promotions through their mobile devices.

Shoppers can receive special offers and identify, compare and rank products based on metrics such as price and nutrition value. The app will also store loyalty rewards or incentives and suggest complementary items.

Say you're shopping for low-sugar, highly rated and on-sale cereal. As you pan the camera across a shelf of cereal boxes, the augmented reality shopping app will point out which cereals meet the criteria and provide a coupon to entice you to make a purchase.