Vouchers, deals and discount codes are now just a regular part of our shopping experiences, but which mobile apps are the best at helping us bag a good bargain?
Here’s a rundown of our top four apps for giving you the very best deals and discounts locally and nationally, with many available to download for a number of handsets.
Groupon
The concept behind Groupon’s group buying platform probably needs no introductions, as people up and down the country eat at restaurants and have their hair done at salons they’d usually never dream of stepping in to.
But, with so many of us signing up to be notified of new deals via email, the Groupon app has taken a bit of a back seat. The app itself is super easy to use, with a main interface which displays the deal of the day, along with a page full of many more. You can also easily change your location and scroll through neighbouring cities and areas for more discounts.
Available for free for iPhone, Android and Blackberry phones. BitchBuzz app rating: 4/5 for bringing Groupon’s awesomeness to our mobiles in a very user-friendly way.
MyVoucherCodes
The MyVoucherCodes app uses GPS technology to find out exactly where you are, so the deals you see on the screen are tailored to your specific area. I personally love the fact the app tells you how far you’d have to walk to get to the deals as well, perfect for if you care about saving money but don’t like to work too hard for it! The location services are what makes this app stand out, as you can also view all of the deals on a map as well, which is really handy as apposed to seeing them in a long list.
Another useful feature is that you can toggle categories on and off, so if you’re only ever interested in restaurant deals you can get rid of entertainment and shopping and you can also share your favourite finds on Twitter or Facebook directly from within the app itself.
Available for free for iPhone and Android phones. BitchBuzz app rating: 5/5 because the location services are great and there’s a mixture of big brands and small local finds.
Vouchercloud
It calls itself “the UK’s No. 1 mobile voucher app” and Vouchercloud certainly doesn’t disappoint, with a wide range of different deals and voucher codes as well as all of the plus points of the apps above, like a map, distances and simple interface. My favourite thing about the app is the colourful scroll bar that runs along the top of the screen, allowing you to chose different categories.
My only criticism would be that I feel a bit overwhelmed when I’m trying to navigate through all the deals on offer, but the app does its best to categorise everything and I wouldn’t want certain deals to be chopped out, so I can’t really complain!
Although it may not appeal to everyone I was also happy to see a special section of deals because I’m an Orange customer, it feels nice to be rewarded for paying an extortionate contract every month!
Like Groupon, you don’t actually have to have an app to be able to access these deals; you can access them on the web or have them sent to you as text messages.
Available for iPhone and Android phones. BitchBuzz app rating: 4/5 for having such a massive range of deals spanning a lot of different categories.
Money Supermarket
The interface of this app from popular website and money forum Money Supermarket is very very similar to the way Vouchercloud works, with categories along the top and then various different sections, like What’s local and What’s popular underneath.
Like the other apps there’s an option to view deals on a map, as well as a nice feature to see those that are ending soon.
Available for iPhone phones. BitchBuzz app rating: 5/5 as it’s another great app with plenty of options and it’s surprisingly user-friendly to say there are so many deals crammed in there.
Becca Caddy is a BitchBuzz Tech columnist and freelance writer. She is also the UK editor of US-based tech blog Popgadget.net. You can follow her @beccacaddy or read her blog beccacaddy.com.
All images via the Apple App Store.