Shopping, even shopping for something you really want, can be a total drag. Finding the best item for your needs can be tricky, especially if you haven’t had much time to research or have many restrictions on what you can buy. Thankfully, help is at hand…literally! Consmr is an iPhone app that lets users simply point an iPhone at a barcode to instantly see product reviews for grocery, health, beauty and baby products.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

What makes Consmr different from other similar apps out there is the fact that the scanner doesn’t just provide info about the product you are looking up, but also looks up alternative and related products. Simply use your camera to scan the barcode on an item, and you will see product reviews, “better buy” alternatives, and other nearby locations where you can purchase the same item.

Pros

• You can sign in via Facebook if you want, or create a new account, but the app works just fine without signing in
• Reviews and ratings for a huge variety of consumer goods, from food and perfume to baby items and cleaning products
• The app retains a list of items you have recently looked up for easy retrieval
• GPS location helps to locate items in the various stores in your area
• Share product info over Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest

Cons

• Camera takes a long time to focus compared to other barcode scanning apps out there
• Some common household items (such as antacids) are not found in the database (though it is simple enough to add the product name and image yourself after scanning the barcode)
• Items do not always have a price associated with them, making this app good for review but less helpful for bargain hunting
• Focus is more on grocery items, baby items, and health/beauty products. Scanning other items, such as books, will work, but there isn’t much info about them.

Discussion

Consmr is great if you are in a grocery store and tasked with bringing home something for your significant other, and feel completely clueless. Say you don’t usually do the cleaning at home, but your S.O. asks you to pick up some bathroom cleaner on the way home from work. Consmr is a great way to figure out which cleaner is the most effective, or the best value for money. It’s also a great way to compare food products, like different types of hot sauce or two brands of soda.

In addition to obvious benefits of reviews and product locator services, Consmr also has some features that shouldn’t be overlooked. Food items have nutrition information included, and Consmr also includes information when a certain food item has been recalled.

The latest version includes support for pet care products, as well as searching by tags like gluten free, dry skin, non-GMO, etc. For such a new app, there have been lots of improvements already. Here’s hoping that the updates continue regularly and Consmr will become a one-stop reference for every consumer good category out there.

Conclusion and download link

If you want to buy only the very best, Consmr has excellent user reviews that can help to steer you in the right direction. Even if you detest shopping, I’d recommend that you download this app and keep it on your phone. The next time there’s a scare about tainted peanut butter, e. coli-riddled spinach, or unsafe beef, having the ability to get a recall alerts when you scan a product’s barcode is just plain smart.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: 1.7.3

Requires iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, iOS 4.3 or later.

Download size: 3.9 MB

Consmr on Apple App Store