People shop frequently online, but the products they desire might be just a few blocks away. If there is a system for locating the item by essentially geo-tagging inventories using bar scanners one could locate anything with a UPC code. If UPC barcodes had a global management system people could reliably know how to locate any item by distance and even price. Possibly even know if the item is in stock.

This would be saving on shipping, help all merchants get visibility if they carry the product, and balance unfair pricing.

Pricing accountability is no different then online shopping -- there is no trickery and a general structure is now in place for stores to serve their community.

Beyond the benefit for all consumers there are good reasons it would inspire the government to step in with this sort of product responsibility. At the very least this could be used for tracking down products that need to be recalled.