And there're. The holiday shopping season is officially underway. Hear that Jinge? That's the sound of shoppers using smartphones to ring up deals. From comparing prices to finding must-have items. Santa has elves but you have a mobile phone.
"It's about the convenience that customers are looking for and retailers are trying to provide it."
Starts simple, find your favorite retailers on Twitter and Facebook for exclusive discounts for fans and followers. Then make sure you are checking in on GPS apps like Foursquare. JCPenny and Toys R Us are among those with special perks for holiday shoppers.
"With Foursquare, we are going to give you the opportunity to get a special Jeffrey badge."
Ditch store circulars and skip the clip, the shop-kick app delivers rewards to your phone when you are walking to the stores like Target, and Best Buy while Yowza has sent exclusive deals based on your geographic area. Meanwhile, Amazons' price check up and Shop Savvy let you scan bar codes in store and compare prices from different retailers and get deep daily discounts from group buying sites sent to your mobile device every morning. Groupon has already kicked off a festival holiday deals in hundreds of local markets. Living Social starts 12 days of gift-able items on December 13th.
"We are celebrating the holidays and helping consumers buy gifts for their loved ones."
Karin Caifa, cnn, Washington.
