AT&T Shares 6 Savvy Tips for Holiday Shoppers

Shopping malls and stores are bustling with consumers looking for gifts and goodies to place under the tree, and many locals are using their favorite devices to search for the season’s best deals.

A new Holiday Survey from Deloitte suggests that 68 percent of smartphone owners and 63 percent of tablet owners will use their devices to shop this holiday season. Additionally, eighty four percent of smartphone owners use their devices while shopping inside brick-and-mortar stores -- to consult search engines or the stores’ websites, according to Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council, while 90 percent of smartphone owners use their devices for pre-shopping activities such as looking up store locations and searching for deals.

AT&T has prepared a list of six mobile tips to help you beat the crowds and shop sensibly this holiday season:

1. Use apps like Evernote and One Note to get organized with a list of prioritized discounts you need, and when retailers open.
2. Make a shopping list and save it as your ‘wish list’ on Amazon.com.  This will enable you to view and compare the price of products using the Amazon smartphone app and will also keep you focused on your gift list.
3. To make sure you know about the best deals being offered by retailers, shoppers should follow their favorite retailers on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter; watch for posts and tweets about Christmas discounts and deals from your smartphone.
4. Check your email on your phone while you’re out and about because retailers may send emails with additional holiday discounts that can be used in the store for more savings.
5. Use your smartphone’s camera to scan barcodes and QR codes, which synchronize with apps like Amazon.com and eBay Red Laser to compare prices.
6. Download a coupon clipping app like SnipSnap to your smartphone to keep you from rummaging through stacks of paper coupons. The app lets you take photos of your favorite coupons and easily redeem while you are at the store.

To spread the holiday cheer, AT&T in San Diego is also offering half off of the newest smartphones with the trade-in of a customer’s current smartphone.