With Christmas just over a week away, last-minute holiday shoppers still have a chance to get all their gifts on time thanks to shopping apps that are available for free.
These apps can help shoppers find products, compare prices, make purchases and receive alerts about prices going down, according to CBS News. Mobile apps are becoming a more common tool for shopping, with IBM saying online sales from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday this year saw a greater increase than it did in the same period in 2013.
CNET's Dan Ackerman recommends several apps for making gift lists, such as Santa's Bag for iOS and Christmas List Snowball for Android. He said users will know how long they have until Christmas, and that they will be able to set up a budget and add names of people on the list.
Comparing prices can be made easier with Amazon, RedLaser and ShopSavvy, all of which are for iOS and Android and use the camera on a person's phone to help them make the best choice.
"Just hold up the barcode and it reads it. Then, figures out what the product is and then shows the prices at stores nearby and online," Ackerman said.
ShopAdvisor (for iOS and Android) is helpful for shoppers that are looking for certain products and want to buy them at a certain price, CBS News reported. Not only will it send an alert for when the item is on sale, but it will track price history and provide the best deals.
Shoppers can also use Flipp to find out what is on sale at nearby retailers. Ackerman said the app lets you tap items you like and draws a circle around it so the item is saved to a list for later.
Coupon Sherpa and RetailMeNot are great for clipping coupons, with RetailMeNot saying its shoppers saved an average of $29 per order over Thanksgiving Weekend. Ackerman also recommends Car Finder for when you forgot where you parked after a long day of shopping.
"It'll let you use the GPS and map in your phone to just save your location and then when you come back, I'm just going to go, 'Oh, I'm just going to find a little red pin," Ackerman said.
All of these apps should lend a big hand as everyone does their last round of shopping for the holidays.
