It can be hard to think of holiday shopping as anything more than a necessary chore. The stores all get more crowded as Christmas nears, and no matter what time of day you go, you're bound to tell with some frustrations. Prices can feel way too expensive, the amount of sales can feel overwhelming and confusing, and everyone seems to have a short fuse. On top of that, figuring out exactly what to buy your family, friends, and coworkers can be really tough. This often leads to you wandering around an over-crowded, over-heated mall, desperately trying to find a gift that won't break the bank while you also try to avoid waiting on line for an hour. It's exhausting! While not much can make it totally painless, there are some apps that will make holiday shopping easier for you this year.
These apps can do everything from help you put together a gift list that you need to buy, help you find sales you otherwise wouldn't have known existed, and even give you gift ideas in the first place. Plus, they're all easily accessible on your phone, so you don't need to find a quiet corner where you can scroll through websites searching for one thing in particular. Honestly, they'll change the game when it comes to holiday shopping, and you'll probably wonder how you ever got anything done before you used the app.
The below apps are available on iTunes for Apple devices or Google Play for Android devices, so download them before you go out, and get ready to make holiday shopping better... and maybe even fun.
RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot is a free coupon app that you should never shop without. You can find coupons that you can use from your phone or print out simply by searching for the store, or you can browse through the coupons offered for stores near your location to see what's out there. You can even get coupon codes if you're shopping online. Say you're shopping at a store like Macy's, and you want to know if there are any available coupons out there - simply search for Macy's in the app, and all available ones will pop up. You can even set up notifications so that you can find out when sales start. It also offers coupons for restaurants and other spots as well! Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Cartwheel by Target
If you shop at Target constantly throughout the holiday season (and really, who doesn't?), then you need their Cartwheel app. It's basically just a way to have all of their coupons and deals at your fingertips (literally), and you can use it while you're shopping. You can browse offers, as well as receive exclusive offers, and you can also use the Wallet feature to save and pay in store. You can use the app to scan barcodes for prices, reviews, and available deals if you'e on the fence about buying something. There are even store maps and aisle locaters to help you get around. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Santa’s Bag
If you have a ton of gifts to buy, then you know that staying organized and remembering what you want to buy everyone can be stressful and tough. Santa's Bag is the app that will help you do just that. You can make a list of the people you need to buy for, which allows you to plan what you'll get them and budget things out. You can save links for ideas, notes, preferences, and favorite merchants for each recipient, and even get gift ideas on the app. You can also email the list to someone else or print them. It's just a really great way to stay organized with all of your gift info in one place. Get it on iTunes.
SnipSnap Coupon App
Coupons are great. What's not great is trying to remember to collect all of them and take them with you every time you go shopping... then realizing you've forgotten it when you get to the cashier. The SnipSnap Coupon App solves that problem. It allows you to snap a photo of the printed offer, and then the app converts the text, images, and barcode into a mobile-friendly offer so that your printed coupons become mobile coupons - and they're always on hand. Every coupon that gets snapped then goes into a database so that everyone can search for coupons - meaning you could also use it to find savings you didn't have on your own. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
The Christmas List
This is another app that is really great for getting together a Christmas list and keeping gifts organized. You can set a budget for gifts, track who you're buying for, save lists so that you know if you already bought something for someone, add photos, and easily share or print out lists. There's also a feature that allows you to select a store for gifts you need, and the app then automatically builds a shopping list for the store so that you can get everything you need in one trip. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Giftagram
If you prefer not leaving the house to do your holiday shopping, download Giftagram. It makes online shopping even easier! You can shop through the app, picking out the best gifts for whoever you need to buy for, then purchasing them through the app and sending it to their house. You don't even need to get off the touch! Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Discount Calculator
If doing math on the spot isn't your strong suit, then you probably struggle with figuring out what, say, 25% off a price is. You grab an item, see the sale, but don't really register what that means until you get to the cashier... and then maybe experience sticker shock. Download Discount Calculator so that you can take the guesswork out of it. It helps you figure out what the price of each item will be with a discount and sales tax. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Find My Car
It can be annoyingly easy to lose track of your car when you're holiday shopping, whether you had to park really far or park in a gigantic garage. Find My Car helps you remember where you parked and gets you there. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Giftster
This is one of the best ways to keep track of exactly what your family (and maybe friends) wants for Christmas this year. Giftster is basically a gift registry app that connects you with your friends and family. You can each add ite
ms you want into the app under your name so that everyone can see exactly what you want and where to buy it. It's a great way to find out exactly what to buy someone. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Slice
If you decided to do online shopping this year rather than going to stores, you should download Slice. It automatically grabs the tracking numbers from your emails and tracks the location of your packages, giving you updates on a map so that you can see the status of your shipments. It notifies you when packages are being shipped or are out for delivery. It's just a nice way to keep track of everything. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
UPS Mobile
If you specifically use UPS all the time to order things, you'll want to get the UPS Mobile app. It allows you to track and name shipments, updates you on when you can expect something, lets you look at a live map, lets you authorize drivers to leave packages without a signature, and alerts you on when shipment dates change. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
Shopular
If you like coupons and getting cash back, then you'll love using Shopular. The app aggregates coupons, online cash back, weekly ads, promo codes, and markdowns from your selected favorite stores and updates you daily on what's going on so that you'll never miss a sale. You can earn up to 25% cash back when you shop online using the app, which isn't a bad deal. Get it on iTunes or Google Play.
