American Consumer Credit Counseling shares the best apps to help consumers plan their holiday shopping.
Boston, MA – October 9, 2014
As the holiday season approaches, American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) today released its recommendations for the best apps for bargain hunters.
Now is the time when shoppers should not only plan ahead for what they will purchase this holiday season, but also determine a plan for how they will afford it. Mapping out holiday financial plans is a good way to avoid overspending and credit card debt.
According to the Prosper Spending Score, spending during the 2014 holiday season is projected to increase by more than eight percent from 2013, with E-Commerce once again playing a large role in sales. Last year, online sales from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday climbed 26 percent to $7.6 billion, with Cyber Monday seeing sales increase 16 percent from the previous year and finishing 31.5 percent higher than Black Friday.
“All too often, consumers’ lack of preparation for the season can create long-term financial struggles and leave them with a lingering holiday debt hangover come the New Year,” said Steven Trumble, President and CEO of ACCC.
ACCC predicts that retailers will offer a variety of attractive incentives to consumers this holiday season, including sales, price-matching guarantees, and various promotions. These trends will continue to increase as November and December approach, with some competing retailers opening on Thanksgiving, or launching Grey Thursdays (preview sales before Black Friday).
Whether shopping for presents, home goods, or holiday parties, these smartphone apps ensure that consumers will save money and score can’t-beat bargains.
- Coupon Sherpa – With this handy app, consumers can access hundreds of coupons to popular retailers and restaurants and set favorite stores to easily track their latest deals.
- Retail Me Not – No need to print coupons before leaving home- easily search for the coupons and browse trending deals to find the best offers. Coupons can be saved for later, automatic alerts can be sent for deals that are nearby, and notifications can be sent when deals are about to expire.
- Snip Snap – Perfect for extreme couponers, this app allows users to snap photos of coupons, save them to their phone, and redeem them later. You can also use this app to share coupons with friends.
- Target’s Cartwheel – Use this app to choose from hundreds of offers across every category at Target. Show your printed or mobile barcode at your Target store checkout and feel good when you see your savings add up.
- Grocery Smarts Coupon Shopper – Another great app for extreme couponing, you can use this app to cross-reference manufacturer coupons with store sales. This app tracks store prices and shows you exactly how you can use current manufacturer’s coupons to save.
- Favado – Favado allows you to easily compare grocery prices and notifies you when your favorite items go on sale.
- Red Laser – This barcode scanning app lets you immediately compare prices when in a store or making a purchase from your phone.
- Amazon Price Check – Use barcode scanning, camera, speech, or text search to find the lowest prices from Amazon.com and its merchants. You can also share in-store prices.
- Shop Savvy – You can use this app to not only search for deals online and locally, but you can also use it to make a purchase from an online merchant or participating store.
ACCC is a 501(c)3 organization, that provides free credit counseling, bankruptcy counseling, and housing counseling to consumers nationwide in need of financial literacy education and money management. For more information, contact ACCC:
- For credit counseling, call 800-769-3571
- For bankruptcy counseling. call 866-826-6924
- For housing counseling, call 866-826-7180
- Or visit us online at ConsumerCredit.com
About American Consumer Credit Counseling
American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a nonprofit credit counseling 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering consumers to achieve financial management and debt relief through education, credit counseling, and debt management solutions. ACCC provides individuals with practical debt solutions for solving financial problems and recognizes that consumers’ financial difficulties are often not the result of poor spending habits, but more frequently from extenuating circumstances beyond their control. As one of the nation’s leading providers of financial education and credit counseling services, ACCC’s certified credit advisors work with consumers to help them determine the best plan of action to get out of debt and regain financial stability. ACCC holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. For more information or to access free financial education resources, log on to ConsumerCredit.com or visit TalkingCentsBlog.com.
