The New York Times Co.-owned About.com’s ConsumerSearch has rolled out a mobile application that offers users shopping advice and lets them price compare.

Through the iPhone and iPod Touch app consumers can get instant product reviews and pricing when they browse in a store. Additionally, users can scan bar codes of products through the mobile app.

“Our broader strategy for ConsumerSearch is to provide a more engaging, more comprehensive product research experience, to do so across all platforms,” said Brett Krasnove, director of product management of ConsumerSearch.com.

“We believe that this app is another step forward towards achieving our mission of helping consumers become more informed, confident purchasers,” he said. “While our Web site does a good job of providing recommendations of what to buy and where to buy it online, we feel this app provides an additional layer of service to the user in that we help them find where to buy products locally.

“We know that there are many consumers right now in stores evaluating all kinds of products. We want to help them make the right decision. We want our app to arm them with information so that they either go home with the right product, buy it online if that’s the right option, go to another store close by that sells the product for less, or keep shopping until they find what they need.”

The New York Times Co. is a multimedia news and information company with 2011 revenues of $2.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, About.com and related properties.

The About Group comprises the Web sites About.com, ConsumerSearch.com and CalorieCount.com.

Consumers can download the free app through Apple’s App Store.

Shopping reviews
The ConsumerSearch app features expert and user-generated consumer product reviews, as well as recommends the best products to buy based on a user’s findings.

The app also identifies local retailers that are offering products consumers are searching for and gives them directions to the nearest location.

Consumers can search for product reviews across different categories such as Home and Garden, Kitchen and Food, Health and Beauty and Automotive.

Additionally, users can find deals from online retailers and get local pricing and product availability.

“We’re working hard to ensure that our users have access to ConsumerSearch content wherever they may be,” Mr. Krasnove said.

“Many users have visited our smartphone-optimized site,” he said. “When a user visits this site from an iPhone or iPod touch, we are going to let them know about the app.

Word of mouth
The company is also running promotions for the app across its mobile offerings.

“Mobile is becoming a core pillar of ConsumerSearch’s focus,” Mr. Krasnove said. “More and more of our users want product reviews, pricing and guidance on smartphones and tablets and they expect and deserve a great experience that leverages the device’s capabilities and is easy to use.”