Tag: iphone application

Plummeting Canadian dollar means rising prices for Apple mobile apps

| January 25, 2016

iPhone users are suddenly finding that the Apple App Store isn’t quite as affordable as it was a week ago.

The falling Canadian dollar, nicknamed the “loonie” after the loon image on the coin, has been experiencing a steady drop over the last several months, but mobile apps for iOS devices have maintained the same price.

This has meant that Apple will be hiking prices at the Canadian App Store for the second year in a row.

This means that Canadians can expect their iTunes bills to start to rise along with the prices of mobile apps for their Apple devices. The reason given for the change in price is simply the foreign exchange rates. The company expressed that Canada won’t actually be the only country in which iPhone apps will be getting pricier. Aside from that North American nation, there will also be price increases in Mexico, South Africa, Russia, New Zealand, Singapore and Israel. The notice was given to provide consumers with 72 hours of warning.

The announcement from Apple said there would be two new low-price tiers for mobile apps sold in Canada.

Mobile Apps - Prices in Canada ClimbingThat said, Apple did not use the document to explain precisely what the new price tiers for the sales of Canadian iPhone apps would be. The Next Web has released a report that indicates that where the cheapest apps had been $1.19, those would be increasing to $1.39. While that difference may seem moderate, it is in the more higher-priced mobile applications that the difference would be the most striking. The report indicated that apps that had previously been $50.00 would see a new and much higher price at $69.99.

At the time of the writing of this article, Apple had declined the opportunity to comment on the claims made within the report.

This is the second time that the price of iPhone mobile apps has been recently increased as a result of the falling Canadian dollar. Only a year ago, $0.99 apps saw their prices increased to $1.19, with more expensive apps seeing prices rising correspondingly. At that time, the applications were made more expensive as a result of foreign exchange rates as well as changes to value-added tax (VAT).

Mobile commerce app benefits Walmart shoppers

| April 13, 2013

Walmart mobile commerceMobile Consumers can now enjoy a fast shopping experience with mobile scanning technology.

Retail giant Walmart is widening its mobile commerce footprint with its new Scan & Go mobile app that allows iPhone users the ability to scan the items they want to buy, which they can then purchase at a self-checkout with quick convenience.

New smartphone scanning technology provides shoppers with independence.

According to information from Walmart’s Scan & Go promotional material, “Scan & Go is a new way to shop in Walmart stores that allows YOU to take control of your shopping experience.” The new scanning technology transforms iPhone devices into mini mobile shopping helpers that allow consumers to browse the store, scan what they want, place the selected scanned products in their basket or cart, and head to a self-checkout where they pay for their scanned goods and leave. Customers can shop and go with no fuss and skip the long checkout line.

The new mobile commerce application is expected to reach 200 stores.

Currently, approximately 70 Walmart stores are Scan & Go compatible. Based on information from a published report, the total number of stores expected to offer this mobile commerce service is 200. When all is said and done, the company’s aim is to introduce the scan technology to 12 new markets in addition to the Atlanta market and the areas near Bentonville, Arkansas where the technology already exists.

iPhone users who would like to gain access to the Walmart application will find it available for download at Apple’s App Store. When the user accesses the app in a compatible Walmart store, a message will be displayed giving the consumer the option to choose “Store Mode”. From this point, they can begin scanning product barcodes with their smartphone. When the customer is done shopping, they take their items to the self-checkout where they will able to pay for these pre-scanned products by transferring the data from their phone to the register by scanning a QR code displayed on the resister screen.

An Android version of Scan & Go is not yet available but will be released in the near future. Currently, the mobile commerce app is only available for Apple iPhone devices that run iOS 5 or higher.