The holiday shopping season is here, and it’s time to start thinking about the gifts you plan to buy for family and friends. Budgeting for this can be overwhelming, as can the idea of hitting all those crowded stores. It’s tempting to handle all your shopping on your phone, and for good reason – your phone doesn’t have the Disneyland-caliber lines of people waiting to check out, the in-stock selection is usually much larger than what’s on display at a physical store, and, oh yeah – you don’t need to leave the house. Here’s a look at some of the best sites for your holiday shopping:
Amazon
It’s no wonder that Amazon is a powerhouse. Not only can you find a variety of gifts for anyone’s wish list, but discounts and deals are offered often, especially during the holiday season. You can take advantage of one-click ordering, so you don’t need to enter your credit card and shipping information repeatedly. Want even more perks? Sign up for Amazon Prime, and get eligible items to your doorstep within two days for no extra charge.
eBay
With a vast array of items that are available locally and some that are otherwise hard to locate, you can use the eBay app to scour potential purchases by searching, viewing detailed product images and checking out your personalized feeds. EBay also uses PayPal, so you don’t have to worry about the security of your banking information (or entering it repeatedly), and it lets you easily bid on auction items when you’re on the go.
PayPal
While it’s already been mentioned briefly, it bears repeating: PayPal is a great payment tool for your holiday shopping. Once you enter your preferred shipping and billing addresses and credit card information, you can shop as you please on any site that uses PayPal. Going in on a group gift with a few friends? Easily send what you owe via PayPal, or transfer funds to your bank that were sent to you through the platform.
FTD
Christmas flowers from FTD make a great present, especially for a party hostess and hard-to-shop-for family and friends. FTD’s mobile site is optimized for mobile, and you can shop by occasion, price or product and get exclusive text offers sent right to your phone. You can also sign up to receive text reminders for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions.
Retail Me Not
When it comes to holiday shopping, who doesn’t want to save a little money? To keep as much of your cash as you can, look for coupons and deals on this site. Retail Me Not has an easy-to-use mobile site and app that can be quickly searched to see offers you can use at almost any store you can imagine. Don’t press “purchase” without checking here first.
Target
Target continuously refines its mobile website and apps and incorporates multidimensional elements that make shopping fun and rewarding – so much so, that Mobile Commerce Daily named Target its mobile retailer of the year last year. Through things like mobile videos and location-based content, advertising and coupons, you can find great deals on gifts.
So before you rush out to the mall to fight for close parking spots and weave through the masses in the walkways, take a moment and break out your mobile phone. Happy shopping – from home.
