Shopping apps and e-coupons are making the days of cutting paper coupons practically obsolete.

“I can’t think of the last time I actually brought a paper coupon anywhere,” shopper Brandon Moore said.  “It’s usually blowing it up on my phone and having them scan it.”

Today, a smartphone loaded with shopping apps is all you need to start saving.

And, of course, who doesn’t like getting a deal?

“I get really excited,” shopper Jennifer Maihack said.  “Just saving a little something extra. It’s like, you know … YAY!” 

Target’s Cartwheel app is a popular one. It gives you access to special deals and extra savings for certain items already on sale.

“You can get something on sale, but then you can double-dip and scan that item and see if it’s available on Cartwheel as well,” Target executive Corneshia Williams said.

“The last time I used it I ended up saving, like, $25 on a, like, $60 purchase,” Moore said.

Popular Shopping Apps

  • RedLaser is one of the most popular shopping apps.  You scan the barcode of a product with your smartphone camera, and it checks thousands of online and brick-and-mortar retailers to find you the best price.  If it’s cheaper somewhere else, ask the store if they’ll match it.  Many stores do these days. If not, decide if it’s worth it to go get the deal at the other location.
  • Shopkick is a pretty cool one to try.  You get rewards and gift cards and don’t even have to buy anything to earn savings.  Simply walking into a store like Macy’s, Best buy, or Target earns you points or “kicks” as they call them. You earn more if you scan items and, of course, even more if you buy something. It takes about 1,250 kicks to get a $5 gift card.
  • RetailMeNot is also a good one to have on your phone, especially when you head out to the mall and didn’t take time to do any coupon searches.  Retail-Me-Not can geographically target deals for you.  It sends you an alert about any specials available at your favorite stores near-by.
  • Coupons.com is a good, basic, all-around coupon search app.  It gives you access to deals for brands and stores you like.  If you allow access to your location tracking, it will alert you to deals while you’re shopping.
  • Coupon Sherpa is another one to try. It gives you quick access to hundreds of coupons from retailers, sorted either by location, favorite stores, brands or product categories.  If you’re at the mall, just select a store, download the coupon and show the image to the cashier to redeem it.
  • Ibotta is an app that gives you cash-back rebates based on what you buy at retail stores that participate. To get the money back, you have to scan the product barcode and submit a photo of your receipt.
  • GOODZER calls itself the “local shoppers'” best friend.  It will compare prices for you on everything from drug-store items to clothing.  You just type in what you’re looking for, and it will troll local stores for you to find out who has it and how much it costs.

They all do similar things with slightly different twists.

Keep in mind, a lot of apps want access to your location services to be able to connect you with deals at stores around you.  If you allow that, your phone will actually ding with deals and notify you as you’re walking around the mall. 

It is a trade-off, giving the app access to your location, but it does pay off.  One shopper we spent some time with saved more than $15 by using the Cartwheel app at Target.  Not bad.

So, when you’re out holiday shopping, don’t forget-- savings are right in the palm of your hand.