Starting this month, Target is introducing a new app that will let smartphone users purchase items after scanning the company’s magazine ads. Called “In a Snap,” it is the latest technology offering for retailers looking to boost online sales by using improving image-recognition software.

The release is in response to anticipated competition from Firefly, a service Amazon is launching this week with the debut of its Fire smartphone. Apps that scan codes, such as QSR codes and UPC symbols, are fairly common. While an app that can consistently recognize images or objects has proven to be difficult, Amazon claims that Firefly will recognize 100 million items. Amazon’s current app for iPhones and iPads has a feature that scans barcodes, grocery labels, books and DVDs.

Target spent a year researching its app and its Rapid Accelerated Development technology team took about eight weeks to build. The new app is limited to recognizing products in ads, but is still in test mode. The app will recognize images in 10 home decor magazines including Architecture and Real Simple. A user can simply scan an image and when it is recognized, the item gets added to a shopping cart for potential purchase. It is free to download and it offers users the ability to send feedback to the Minneapolis retailer.

ComScore vice president of marketing Andrew Lipsman said Amazon’s Firefly should be a concern for rival retailers, but is not likely to change consumer behaviors overnight. “It’s easy for technology to wow us, but it only matters as much as it is useful to the consumer,” he said. “There are plenty of examples of really cool technology, but if it doesn’t become engrained in regular behavior, it is not going to represent a sea change in e-commerce.”