Shop ‘til you drop on Black Friday with Lumia and these Windows Phone apps
Beat the crowds, scout the top bargains, and get your holiday shopping done with the help of your Lumia.
Black Friday: Those two words can make perfectly normal folks squeal in excitement or shudder with dread.
For Americans, Black Friday (when retailers go into “the black” revenue-wise) is the day after Thanksgiving and the official kick-off of the holiday shopping season.
In the wee hours of next Friday, many of us will forego turkey leftovers to line up at our favorite retail stores, armed with a list of prudently researched gifts we’d like to buy. Those of us wishing to avoid the madding crowds will have their fingers poised above their Lumias or laptop computers as they scour favorite shopping sites.
To help you prepare, here’s a host of Windows Phone apps to help you do your gift-shopping in record time so you can better enjoy the holidays.
RedLaser (free, Windows 7.5 and up)
This indispensable shopping app helps you compare prices of the same item at different stores so you can truly get the best deal.
You can scan an item’s barcode in a store or perform an image, voice or text search for millions of products from thousands of retailers. Nearby locations will be shown on a map so you can dash across town and save a few bucks.
ShopSavvy (free, Windows Phone 8 and up)
Another classic barcode-scanning app, ShopSavvy displays local and online prices, saves your searches, offers reviews of products and allows you to complete your online purchase from within the app. It’s also a handy QR code scanner, too.
Best Coupon App (free, Windows 8 and up)
This highly rated and aptly named app features daily deals, discount codes, and high-value coupons from major retailers, many of which can be redeemed directly on your Lumia. You can also print out coupons by first downloading them into the “Saved Pictures” album on your phone.
ShopAdvisor (free, Windows 7.8 and up)
This app allows you to create a shopping list of products you’d wish to buy … for the right price. Set up alerts that tell you when an item goes on sale, as well as notifications on when out-of-stock items are available again.
Search any item your heart desires: ShopAdvisor keeps track of the prices and availability of more than 200 million products. You can also use GPS to see local deals.
Windows Phone apps from your favorite retailers
Many popular retailers have their own Windows Phone apps. For instance, stores such as Best Buy and online sites such as Newegg might be the best place to pick up a great deal on an Xbox One bundle.
In addition, The Home Depot and Lowes apps are worth downloading to help you fix up your home for the holidays. Amazon’s Black Friday deals are legendary and Groupon is worth a download, too.
What’s on your shopping list this Black Friday?