Personally I try to use my iPhone for nearly everything I do—from keeping track of my auto repairs, monitoring my financial budget, to taking photos. Since the iPhone is with me wherever I go, it’s easy to use it like a personal office assistant. Another category of apps that I find handy on my iPhone are ones that help me find deals on products and services.
There about a dozen iPhone apps in the iTunes App Store geared specifically for searching out sales and mark-downs on a wide range of items and services. Taking just a few minutes to search for deals could possibly save you a few hundred dollars over several months. I’ve selected eight such apps based on their ease of use and positive feedback ratings in the App Store. Let’s check them out.
Amazon Mobile
Nearly every time I visit a local bookstore, BestBuy, or Apple Store, I inevitably pull out and use my Amazon Mobile app.
The latest version of Amazon Mobile features a bar scanning features which within seconds searches and locates a product I’m looking at in the store. From there I can not only compare the online price with the store price, but I can also get quick customer reviews and a list of similar brands or products. I can’t count how many time I’ve put off purchasing something from, say my local Apple Store, because I could get the same item for 30 to 40% off on Amazon.
Purchasing on Amazon means typically waiting 1-3 days to get the product. More than a few times I actually made the Amazon order while standing in the store examining the product I’m ordering online.
Amazon Deals
Amazon has three iOS mobile apps, and all three do provide pretty much the same information but with a different user interface. Amazon Deals is slightly different in that it focuses on Amazon’s daily mark-downs on selected items.
If you’re already an Amazon Prime user, you might as well check out these deals using this app. I’ve seen many marked-downs as much as 50%, and the app will send you a reminder for upcoming deals.
Deals by Citysearch
Deals by Citysearch does what its title says. It searches for product and service deals based on your GPS location. It includes categories for restaurants, bars, shopping, automotive, groceries, pets, etc.
The app can filter for particular categories you’re looking for. With the installed map, it also provides you directions to local businesses with the selected deal. You might want to call the business first though to check to see if the deal is still in effect. Phone numbers are typically listed for businesses.
Weekly Ads & Sales
If you don’t want to spend time perusing your local newspaper, but you still would like to get your hands on money saving coupons, Weekly Ads & Sales is an app you should have on your iPhone.
Weekly Ads listings for over 78,000 stores, for 80 major retailers. It can search by your present location, or you can enter a location area where you plan to go. The search results look just like the ads you find in newspapers, except you don’t have to be bothered with all the paper and cuttings.
Groupon
Groupon features deals currently available in more then 500 cities around the world. Add your country and city and it delivers deals for all types of products and services. You can shop by categories, and unfortunately on some days there may less than a handful of deals available in your area. Nevertheless, if you’re looking to splurge a little money, you might check Groupon before you go out shopping.
Grocery eCoupons
Grocery eCoupons is similar to Weekly Ads, providing coupons for over 24,000 supermarkets and drugstores nationwide.
This is is a useful for when you’re in a store and need to quickly check on items that are currently on sale. You don’t have to clip these items. You simply present them to the clerk at checkout. You can sort sales alphabetically, by category, expiration date, and value. You do have to create an account in order to get full view of the coupons.
SaleLocator
SaleLocator uses your GPS location to find sales closest to you. It searches 20+ categories including clothing and apparel, furniture, health and beauty, automotive, home repair and much more.
The searches are pretty fast, but the listings are in small font size with typically no images accompanying them. Each listing though does include the store and phone number so that sales can be verified. You can also sign up to get email alerts about sale items. SaleLocator has received mostly positive reviews in the iTunes App Store.
I Love Free Things
The iPhone version of the I Love Free Things website features daily listings of freebies, samples, and giveaways — offered by businesses who want to build a strong customer base.
It searches wide category of items and services, both online and local – including pets, clothing, sweepstakes, greeting cards, music, books, health, games, and art supplies. While you can’t list by category, you can star listings as favorites and review them later. Customer comments are also included with each listing, so if the sales promotion has expired, you or someone else can leave such a comment.
There are a handful of other similar apps like the ones listed above in the App Store. Let us know if any these apps have been helpful to you as a shopper.
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