Does the holiday season have you nervous because of all of the shopping involved? Don’t be, especially if you have an Android smartphone or other device at your disposal. The Android Market is filled with apps that can make your holiday shopping season a less stressful one, and this list will showcase some of the best around.

ShopAdvisor

The ShopAdvisor app can be thought of a personal shopping assistant right on your Android device.  That is, a personal assistant that will work for free.  ShopAdvisor is great because you can use it to not only find deals online, but also in local stores.  The app churns out virtually every piece of vital information you would need prior to purchasing a product.  Just type in the name of the item and you will get online and local results, reviews, and more.  If you love to compare prices but don’t want to waste your time doing the dirty work, let ShopAdvisor do it for you.

Beyond price comparisons, the app’s alert system is another highlight worth mentioning.  You can enter in a budget price and ShopAdvisor will send you a notification once the product reaches that price.  No longer will you have to check websites on a daily basis for sales on specific items, which is important if you are looking to save precious time.  You also have the option of saving a product that you plan to purchase on a later date.  So, if you are the forgetful type, it will not matter as long as you have ShopAdvisor installed and ready to go.

Groupon

Groupon is an app that is all about coupons.  Rather than having to clip coupons out of the weekly newspaper, Groupon gives you the power to get coupons instantly right from the convenience of your Android device.  Substantial deals become available on a daily basis, and the app will help you locate deals specific to your area that can be redeemed immediately.

Shopkick

The Shopkick app for Android is all about giving you shopping kickbacks for doing virtually nothing.  You don’t have to pay a dime to use it, and it gives you rewards for doing something as simple as walking into a store.

In Shopkick terminology, a kick equals a reward.  You get kicks when using the app each time you enter a store such as Best Buy, American Eagle, Target, and Sports Authority, just to name a few.  These kicks can then be converted into nifty rewards such as gas cards, movie tickets, digital music downloads, restaurant vouchers, gift cards, and more.  You also have the option to use your kicks towards donations to charities.

As an added bonus, Shopkick has instituted extra kicks for customers who link certain Visa credit cards or other debit cards to their account.  The extra kicks will “kick” in every time you make a qualifying purchase.  Besides the kicks, Shopkick also hooks you up with deals when shopping, so it really has dual-functionality.  In fact, if you use the app enough, your kicks converted into gift cards can take care of some of the people on your list, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

SnapTell

SnapTell for Android allows you to snap a photo of a product’s cover or barcode to find out more information as you shop.  While there are plenty of barcode scanning apps on the market, SnapTell takes it one step further with the addition of image recognition.  You can upload a picture from your smartphone’s photo album, scan a barcode, or use the app to snap a picture.  Once the app finds a match, it churns out pricing information, links, reviews, and more.  The fact that you can upload a picture from your photo album is key, as it means you can snap pictures on the go and save them for future use without having the app open.

RedLaser

RedLaser is yet another Android app that utilizes barcode scanning to offer a ton of information for shoppers.  It can scan various types of barcodes such as UPC, EAN, QR, etc.  If a barcode cannot be read, simply enter in the number.  Once a product is scanned, the amount of information you can obtain is impressive.  You can compare product prices online as well as in nearby stores.  Product reviews are integrated as well to help you make decisions before buying.  If you see a product that interests you but you are not ready to take the plunge just yet, you can send yourself a reminder via email using the app.  Beyond simple price comparisons, RedLaser also gives you the ability to scan food products to see nutritional information, including data on allergens.  Do you like to read?  Scan a book’s barcode and RedLaser will let you know if it’s available for checkout at the nearest library for free.

Christmas List

A regular old Christmas List on a piece of paper may bring back nostalgia, but you have to get with the times.  You are an Android owner, after all, which means you have a powerful little device that is filled with a world of possibilities, including the capability to help you get your Christmas shopping done with the less stress possible.  One way to get such capability is by downloading the Christmas List app.  It basically acts like a Christmas List but with a ton of extra functionality.  It’s also comes in a free version, so you really have no risk involved by downloading it.

Christmas List allows you to create a profile for each person on your list.  Since everyone on your list has a unique relation to you, you obviously are not going to spend the same amount on each person.  For this reason, you need to budget, and that is where Christmas List comes in handy.  You can input the budget and the gift or gifts you want to buy for the person.  Each time you purchase a gift, the profile gets updated to show you what else needs to be done, such as wrapping the gift and sending it.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

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