Apps can help smart consumers make holiday shopping more manageable, especially as Christmas draws near. But with so many to choose from, how can you pick the best?
To help, we’ve made a list of our favorite best-reviewed holiday shopping apps. These tools let you find deals, manage your shopping list, or even locate your car in a crowded lot — and each is free to download, though some offer premium features for a small price.
Some also allow you to buy gifts within the app. If you do, make sure your purchase date is before the deadline for guaranteed delivery by Christmas.
ShopSavvy
ShopSavvy helps you find the lowest price available on all of your gift list items. Enter a product’s name or scan its barcode, and ShopSavvy will tell you where to find the best deal, locally or online. If you’re shopping at a store that offers price matching, show a clerk your ShopSavvy research to get that lower price.
Download from iTunes or Google Play
RedLaser
Like ShopSavvy, RedLaser helps you find the lowest possible prices on items when you search by product name or barcode. It also lets you organize all your rewards memberships in one place, and since it comes from the folks at eBay, RedLaser includes eBay products in its price comparison.
Download from iTunes or Google Play
RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot aggregates more than 50,000 retailers’ coupons, so you can pull up the best deal on your smartphone and present it at the register. The app can also connect you to coupon deals at restaurants, which you’ll appreciate when you’re hungry after a holiday shopping marathon.
Download from iTunes or Google Play
Discount Calculator
Avoid sticker shock at the register with Discount Calculator, an ingenious app that figures the real prices for all of your items, including store discounts, “buy 1 get 1 20% off” deals and applicable sales taxes. The Discount Calculator apps for iPhone and Android are made by two different companies, but both have easy-to-use interfaces and outstanding user reviews.
Download from iTunes or Google Play
Santa’s Bag
Worried about sticking to your holiday shopping budget? Santa’s Bag combines a shopping list, budget tracker and Christmas countdown clock to keep you organized and within your spending limits. The app is for iOS only, but we’ve included a similar app for Android users below.
Download from iTunes
Christmas Gift List
Android users can manage their shopping list and budget with a fun, holiday-themed interface using the Christmas Gift List app. It even lets you set reminders — for example, to set aside time to wrap your gifts.
Download from Google Play
Find My Car
Find My Car isn’t necessarily a holiday app, but it could be pretty darned useful if you can’t remember where you parked in a gigantic shopping center lot. The app shows your GPS location and the GPS location of your car. The iOS and Android apps are made by different companies, but they share the same name, and both work great if you’re out shopping, or at a concert or stadium event.
Download from iTunes or Google Play
Image via iStock.
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