Purchx aims to solve one of the most tedious of shopping tasks: deciding which thing you should buy. Sure, there are some items you just know you want, but say you're trying to decide which printer to buy — instead of opening up a dozen tabs in your browser to compare, Purchx lets you select just one and then compare it with one tap to its top competitors.
The app, which is available free in the App Store, was originally launched a few years ago as Consumr, which was acquired by advertising and publishing firm Purch in March of 2015. Now it's relaunched as Purchx (and version 4.0), bringing barcode scanning to the product comparison game. Scan one product on the store shelf, scan the other one that you can't decide between, and compare prices, ratings, reviews, and more.
Purchx's database includes more than 3 million products, spanning everything from electronics and home appliances to grocery items, skin care, and sporting goods. The app breaks things down by category if you just want to browse, and also offers an Expert Picks section with the highest rated products in each category. And, of course, you can search through text as well if that's more your style.
In addition to the Purchx app, Purch is also launching the Purch Marketplace web store, offering electronics, software, and smart home accessories with curated reviews and content from the web and Purch properties and partners (including our sister site Android Central). Purch Marketplace is integrated into PurchX, though PurchX also offers users the option to purchase from other retailers like Amazon.
iMore is a Purch advertising partner.
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Press release:
Purch Makes Shopping Easy With New Purchx App & Purch Marketplace
Content and commerce innovator retools recently acquired Consumr app to create the ultimate mobile shopping companion; launches Purch Marketplace, a one-stop online shopping hub for tech enthusiasts
NEW YORK, NY (July 14, 2015) – Purch, a digital content and commerce company, today announced the launch of Purchx for iOS, as well as the debut of Purch Marketplace. With Purchx and Purch Marketplace, Purch elevates the shopping experience for tech enthusiasts wherever they are, in-store and online.
Originally acquired by Purch in March 2015 as Consumr, Purchx is the ultimate mobile resource for in-store consumer reviews and comparison shopping on more than 3,000,000 peer-reviewed products. Shoppers can use the app on iPhone or iPad to access all the information they need – from insightful product reviews by like-minded shoppers to price comparisons to store locations nearby – to make smarter, faster purchase decisions that work with their budget. Shoppers can also earn perks for helping other shoppers make better decisions.
"As a company, we're constantly seeking new ways to enhance the buying experience for everyday shoppers," said Doug Llewellyn, COO of Purch. "Purchx builds on our online success with our reviews sites by creating a one-stop mobile resource for in-store or on-the-go shoppers, and giving them all the info they need to find the best possible product in the easiest, most convenient way possible. It's an all-in-one mobile product guide."
New Purchx features include:
Scan and Compare – By simply scanning one or multiple barcodes or searching and browsing products in-app, shoppers can see product comparisons and reviews from Purchx's vast category library, including electronics, toys, beauty, baby, grocery, hair care, health, home and garden, personal and skin care, pet care products, sporting goods, and more. Allowing multiple scans in one session provide a best in breed product scanning experience to Consumers looking to read and compare more than one product at a time in retail.
Rewards and Leaderboard – Beyond the shopping benefits, Purchx will also feature an enhanced rewards program that allows shoppers to earn points and collect real rewards from some of today's top brands - just by engaging with the app. Users can even keep track of where they rank all-time against other shoppers through the Purchx Leaderboard.
Comparison Shopping 2.0 – Shoppers using Purchx will be able to evaluate products in a way they were not able to before by letting them compare the key pros and cons of products across a given category and even compare a specific product to its top-20 competitors instantly. The App now includes a proprietary comparison engine that leverages big data to surface key differences and similarities between products in many technology categories. Our own editors from across the Purch family of brands have also ranked and weighted hundreds of product attributes as part of our proprietary engine – lending Purch expertise to the consumer product review and comparison experience.
Purch Badges – Purchx will also serve as the introduction of "Purch Badges," a marriage of Purch's leading reviews sites, like Top Ten Reviews, Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, Business News Daily, Laptopmag.com, Live Science and in-app Purchx content. Purch Badges highlight products that have been favorably reviewed across Purch's sites, giving shoppers access to expert insight and evaluations in addition to consumer driven reviews.
Buy Nearby – For shoppers browsing at home or on-the-go, Purchx brings them one step closer to their purchase through an intuitive "Buy Nearby" feature. "Buy Nearby" allows them to call a store directly to inquire about product availability and to reserve items for pick-up at the location that is most convenient for them. (NOTE: This is not new)
Improved Design and Experience – Purchx has been completely redesigned keeping the user in mind. Enhanced with sleek aesthetics, simplified navigation and new category screens, Purchx was built to give users a best-in-class mobile shopping experience that minimalizes "digging" for necessary information.
In addition to Purchx, Purch has also debuted the brand-new Purch Marketplace, a marriage of curated online shopping and relevant content. Through the Purch Marketplace, online shoppers can browse and buy highly-rated technology spanning three distinct product and service stores: electronics, software, and smart home, with additional stores forthcoming. Every product featured on the Purch Marketplace has been reviewed and rated across Purch's popular portfolio of sites, including Top Ten Reviews, Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, Live Science and SPACE.com, ensuring shoppers are selecting from only the best product and services in each category. The new Purch Marketplace also prominently links users to our other ecommerce destinations as such as the Space.com and Live Science stores as well as our premier partner Android Central.
"The Purch Marketplace is the perfect union of what we offer to interested shoppers," added Llewellyn. "Our readers go to our brands to figure out how to make the best possible decision when considering a purchase. Technology is an investment, so they want to feel confident and comfortable as they go through that process. What we've done with Purch Marketplace is combine our valuable content with a highly-curated online shopping experience that gives users the information they need and the products they want, all in a single, online environment."
Purch Marketplace has also been integrated into the Purchx shopping experience. Purchx shoppers will be able to buy items directly from the Purch Marketplace in just a few clicks.
With the debut of Purchx and Purch Marketplace, Purch continues its mission to simplify purchase decisions for shoppers. Each year, Purch's content-commerce combination drives more than one billion dollars in commerce transactions. The company recently closed $135 million in funding to help fuel its strategy and growth through acquisitions and investments.
