Saving with 6abc: Scan codes to save money

Just about every product you buy has a UPC bar code on it. And you can use that code and your phone to save money, thanks to an app called "ScanLife."

Michael Wehrs, the CEO and President of Scanbuy, the company behind ScanLife, explains, "The app is fundamentally a tool for consumers to use to get information about products."

The app has about 11 million active users.

Wehrs adds, "It ranges from people looking for refrigerators and appliances to drug stores where people are looking for over-the-counter medicines, to health and beauty products to groceries."

Basically, you pick up a product and scan it. Within seconds, you'll get a list of prices at different retailers -- both brick-and-mortar stores nearby and online sellers. Plus, you can see if coupons are available.

Wehrs says it can be really helpful if you're shopping somewhere with a price-match policy. "You'd bring it up and usually, if the store has a policy around price-matching, the salesperson or clerk or manager will usually say here's the online price and they'll match it."

The app also gives feedback to manufacturers, so if you frequently scan particular items, they can send you special offers.

Say you usually buy, for example, Prell shampoo. Wehrs says, "Prell will be able to push you an offer that would show up in your Scanlife inbox, as Prell has an offer for you this month, or this week, or this day. And it would be a unique digital coupon for you. So it allows a brand to give you very specific information and offers about something that they know you want."

Scanlife is available for most platforms. To download it, click here.