In a Wednesday announcement, eBay revealed that it is acquiring the technology behind RedLaser – the iPhone application that allows people to scan barcodes on products they intend purchasing and make online price comparisons instantly.

Thus far, RedLaser has been downloaded over two million times.

According to Steve Yankovich, the VP of eBay’s mobile unit, RedLaser can be used by buyers for scanning any barcoded item at a brick-and-mortar shop and find out whether they can purchase the same item online at a lesser price, or may be with additional accessories.

Noting that RedLaser’s barcode-scanning technology helps consumers search the best deals online, the San Jose, California-based eBay disclosed its intentions of integrating the RedLaser technology into its iPhone applications, including its eBay Marketplace, eBay Selling, StubHub and Shopping. com apps.

In a recent blog post, RedLaser’s developer - the Boulder, Colorado-based startup Occipital LLC - said that an entirely new eBay team will be running RedLaser, which will continue to remain independent even after the acquisition.

Saying that the mobile handsets enable consumers to “make impulse buys and convenient purchases wherever they are,” Mark Carges, chief technology officer of global products for eBay Marketplaces, added the RedLaser acquisition – the terms of which remained undisclosed – marks eBay’s endeavors in “constantly innovating to make mobile shopping easy and reduce the friction in commerce.”