Finding the perfect gift for the right price is one of the many challenges facing shoppers during the holiday season, and it can be difficult to get every item on your list while staying within your budget. So to help you get through your holiday shopping with ease, we’ve put together a list of the best 5 shopping apps for your smartphone, all of which were tested, reviewed, and approved by the WideNet staff. Happy Holidays!
RedLaser
This popular app is your all-in-one shopping tool. With RedLaser, you can search for items, or scan a barcode, and compare prices with different stores or websites. It will also keep an eye out for deals near you and send you notifications as soon as it detects a new sale. RedLaser sends daily coupons and ads for stores in your area, and even monitors prices on saved items. Also, if you find something online you like, you can buy it directly through the app.
Pros: It’s the all-in-one shopping app. Can meet almost every shopping need, both online and in store.
Cons: Features so many options, it can get overwhelming. Also, can run slow if phone isn’t properly updated.
Download Now: iPhone, Android, Windows Phone
Goodzer
This is app was built specifically for those who want to shop local. Goodzer lets you search for items within a 20-mile radius of your location and lists every store where the item can be found along with price, description, product data, and contact information. The app covers all 50 states, and features over 500K retail locations and over 2.5 billion inventory items.
Pros: So incredibly helpful for those who want to keep their shopping local. Simple, straight forward, and easy to use.
Cons: Very limited app. Can’t do too much with it outside of local shopping. Also, may not recognize every local shop in town. Only available for iPhone.
Download Now: iPhone
Smoopa
Smoopa is a smart shopping app that ensures you never overpay for any product. It works by scanning the barcode on the item and then comparing the prices of matching products stored in the Smoopa database. The app will then let you know if the product is being offered at a good price or not. Also, if you find a better price online through Smoopa, you can buy the product directly from the app.
Pros: It’s basically a price comparison cheat sheet. It literally tells you if something is over priced.
Cons: Can drain battery life pretty quickly. Also, not much use to people who aren’t shopping often or don’t have a huge list for the holiday season.
Slice
For the avid online shopper, Slice keeps a record of any and all items you’ve bought online. It works by syncing to your email and searching your inbox for confirmation messages and tracking numbers. It stores past purchases for later reference, and keeps an eye on current purchases so you can see when and where your product will ship.
Pros: Track your orders from start to finish, and know when and where anything you buy online will show up.
Cons: Doesn’t do anything for in store shoppers. Effective only for those buying online.
Raise
Gift cards are great for the holiday season. This app is an extension of the Raise.com, a website where you can buy and sell discounted gift cards. Now you can snag bargins on the go. Choose from any number of the listed stores, and see what cards are available. Prices range from as little as 0.5% to nearly 99% off the original card value. Or, if you’re looking to make some extra spending cash for your holiday shopping, you can sell any unwanted gift cards as well.
Pros: Buy gift cards under the actual value or sell the ones you don’t want.
Cons: Not guranteed to find the card you want. Some cards are only a few cents to a dollar cheaper. The more popular the store, the closer to actual value the price of the card will be. Only available for iPhone.
Download Now: iPhone
WideNet’s Pick
We have to go with Goodzer. It keeps you from having to travel out of town to find what you’re looking for, and keeps you from having to bounce around from store to store. You can find exactly what you want, where it is, and how much it costs. Despite its limitations, it’s easier to use than RedLaser. This simple shopping app is our pick for the holiday season.
