12 Best Free iOS 7 Holiday Shopping Apps

Buy holiday gifts without even leaving the sofa? Now you’re talking. Just grab your iPhone or iPad. Throw a log on the fire. Download any (or all) of the following 12 free shopping apps for iOS. These apps have all been updated, and in many cases improved, for iOS 7.

Gloat over all the hapless analog shopping going on in the world, with people fighting for parking spaces, standing in long lines and elbowing each other in department stores. (They’ll help if you get off the sofa and visit the mall, too.)

James A. Martin is an SEO and social media consultant and writes the CIO.com Martin on Mobile Apps blog. Follow him on Twitter @james_a_martin and on Google+.

Device: iPhone Current user rating: 4 stars (99 reviews) Most recent version:2.0.2

Forget points — the ibotta app helps you earn actual dollars. Fire up the app at a participating national grocery or home improvement retailer, scan a select item and you’re on the way toward earning dinero. The app works with some national chain restaurants, too. You can filter offers by categories, such as Household, Personal Care, and Blu-rays & DVDs, though the selection of retailers may leave something to be desired.

Device: iPhone, iPad Current user rating: 5 stars (29 reviews) Most recent version: 2.0

Recently overhauled for iOS 7, Shopular is probably the top user-rated iOS shopping app (it currently has a 5-star rating). The geolocation-aware app will pop up deals on your phone as you cruise through the mall or shopping center. The developer says it’s able to do this without sucking your iPhone battery by using cell towers and Wi-Fi, not GPS to locate you. You can customize offers by selecting favorite national retailers, including a few not seen in most other apps, such as retro men’s clothing retailer Penguin.