AisleBuyer Brings In-Store Self-Checkout to iPhone

AisleBuyer, a start-up company located in Boston, is partnering with retailers to bring the ability for consumers to scan and pay for items in brick and mortar stores to the iPhone, negating the need for shoppers to stand in line to make purchases. AisleBuyer’s first retail partner is Magic Beans, a small chain store that sells children’s toys and accessories in the Boston area and the Magic Beans app hit the App Store earlier this month.

With the Magic Beans app shoppers can use the iPhone’s camera to read barcodes and see production information for the scanned item. Scanned items can be added to the shopper’s virtual shopping cart.


When you’re done shopping, you can check-out virtually by entering your credit card information in the app and completing the purchase, which will generate a virtual receipt. A store employee will review your purchases against your virtual receipt when you leave the store.

AisleBuyer states that national retail store partners are in the works though the names of these retail partners have not been announced yet. Currently, AisleBuyer retail partners can offer special deals to users through the app, as well as provide coupons and push notifications for upcoming sales and deals. In a future app update to be submitted soon, Magic Beans will offer access to reviews and UPC manual entry. The ability to scan and save items for future/review purchase is also planned.

An Android version is also under development with a release planned for October.

One of our favorite apps to use when shopping in brick and mortar stores is RedLaser that shows prices for scanned items in nearby physical stores as well as online. While AisleBuyer won’t provide comparison shopping like this, it could make shopping for items that aren’t practical to buy online, like groceries, office supplies, and toiletries more easily purchased at a local store, far more efficient and enjoyable for the tech geeks out there. We’d be thrilled to see AisleBuyer apps for stores like Target and grocery chains to make shopping that much easier and look forward to seeing more retailers partner up with AisleBuyer.