Popular iPhone scanning apps consistently misread product information, according to the Cranfield School of Management.
Its report into the accuracy of the three most downloaded third-party scanning apps for the iPhone found that fewer than nine percent of scans return the correct product information.
In a statement, Richard Wilding, professor of supply chain strategy, said this level of inaccuracy was a serious concern because some consumers use barcodes to locate product information for health reasons. "When scanning the barcode of a leading brand of cornflakes, one app provided information about dog bowls. When scanning another barcode for thick sliced bread, information about a disposable latex glove dispenser was provided," he said.
For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see iPhone shopping apps fail to scan on silicon.com.