5 Ways Your Smartphone Can Help With Holiday Shopping

By Susan Larson

With Thanksgiving falling late in November this year, retailers — and even some shoppers — are a little panicked.  

“With six fewer shopping days between Black Friday and Christmas in 2013, your best holiday season tool is your smartphone,” said Navneet Loiwal, co-founder and CEO of Shopular.  

Ranked by TIME as one of the 50 Best iPhone Apps in 2013, the mobile app pushes personally relevant deals as soon as you walk into your favorite retailer or mall.

Loiwal offers five ways your smartphone can help you jump-start and organize your holiday shopping:

1.  Make a list & ‘save’ it twice – An old cliché with a new twist: First, get organized.  Start by determining your total holiday budget.  Then write down everyone for whom you plan to buy a gift, with ideas of what to give and the maximum amount you’re willing to spend. Save this list on your smartphone or mobile device by emailing it to yourself, taking a photo and/or typing it into your notes. You’ll always have your list handy. 
2.  Never miss a deal ... EVER – Shopular’s intuitive technology automatically alerts you of coupons and deals when you are in a store or mall, at over 40,000 locations around the country.
3.  Start now – Retailers are already offering holiday discounts, historically reserved for Black Friday. Despite the earlier holiday push, weekdays in early December will be some of the best days to beat the crowds and find the deals this season.
4. Shop on off peak days / times – You can accomplish more when the malls are less crowded. Mondays and Tuesdays – including the weekdays following Black Friday and ‘Black Saturday’ – will have fewer crowds and good deals for shoppers who wait it out.
5. Create a 'holiday shopping' folder - In addition to Shopular, there other great free/low cost iPhone and Android apps to help you organize your holiday shopping and planning, including FastMall, The Better Christmas List and DocScanner.