When I go to the grocery store, I don't like when they assign someone to bag my groceries -- I enjoy doing it myself (and I think I'm really good at it...I'm probably wrong about this part, but I am always quite proud of my groupings in the bag). Similarly, I enjoy scanning my own items when I only have a few things in my cart, even though the self-scan machine doesn't seem to like me as much as I like it. This is why I was completely thrilled when I upgraded my iPhone from the original model (which didn't support barcode scanning) to the newer iPhone 5, which has a barcode scanning capability. Ever since I got the phone, I've been scanning everything in sight.
Although coupons are available in a variety of locations using your mobile phone, you can't collect all of them without a scanner on your phone, since some of the deals use a QR code coupon, requiring you to scan it. Once you aim your phone's camera at the code, the QR coupon pops up, and you're instantly saving.
Likewise, you can use your scanner to rack up points using apps like Shopkick and ibotta.
No matter how you aim your smartphone, if you've got a scanning capability, you're most likely having some fun with it. Email us at mobilecouponer@gmail.com to let us know what your favorite scanning apps are.