The sales are upon us meaning that shoppers will want to head out and bag a bargain. Many major retailers are offering big discounts so you’ll want to snap them up before they’re gone. And with the cost of living continuing to rise, there’s no better time than now to shop around town. If you’re planning a shopping trip, here are 12 apps for finding the best local deals in your area.
What are local deals apps?
Local deals apps are mobile apps for deals in your area. Also known as ‘local discount apps’ or ‘geo shopping apps’ they help you save money by making it easy to find local coupons, deals and special offers via your smartphone. Whether you want to save money on groceries, fashion, restaurants, utilities, travel and more, local deals apps can help you do just that.
How do local deals apps work?
Local deals apps work by using your mobile location to send you real-time offers and deals while you are out shopping. Gone are the days of rifling through magazines and newspapers for cut-out coupons. In today’s world, you can find and redeem local deals easily and conveniently via your smartphone.
Powered with geolocation capabilities such as geofencing, local deals apps offer personalized location-based discounts for nearby restaurants, spas, shopping and more. What’s not to love?! All you need to do is make sure your location services are turned on and give the app location permissions when you download it.
Read on for the best apps for deals in your area, or find out more about geofencing software and location-based technology over on the PlotProjects blog.
12 apps for finding the best local deals
Living Social – local deals
Living Social lets you discover and save on an array of amazing activities, dining, spas, salons, fitness, travel and more. Simply download the free Living Social app and navigate easily to find all the best deals and discounts in your local area. Whether you’re planning a special occasion, a day out with the little ones or an afternoon of pure relaxation, this fantastic local deals app will help you do it all, at a snip of the price!
Download it on iOS or Android.
Groupon – shopping, deals & coupons
Groupon lets you save up to 70% on the things you do every day, plus you can get up to 30% cash back on purchases. Save on everything, from shopping and dining out, to spa days, getaways, keep fit and much more. Download the free app and redeem ‘Groupons’ directly from your smartphone. Thanks to its clever location-based capabilities, the app has also got you covered with all the unique and local deals and experiences you could wish for. Share your location with the app and easily search local deals and get real-time updates and notifications about the best offers nearby.
Shopular – cash back & more
Shopular is a handy local discount app that shows you deals from your favorite retailers, and alerts you with location-based notifications about nearby sales. Now part of the Rakuten app, it offers plenty of perks including cashback shopping, geo targeted coupons and sale notifications while you shop. Because many deals are location based, you will need to enable location services on your phone and give the app permission to access your location.
RetailMeNot – personalized push notifications
Save money and time with RetailMeNot, a fantastic local deals app that helps you instantly find the best deals in your area. With more than 500k reviews and 210,000+ offers from thousands of leading retailers, it makes it easy to save money wherever you go. Get local food deals, savings on sportswear, skincare, tech, home garden and more. For shopping online, the Deal Finder browser extension applies codes automatically and lets you earn up to 10X cash back. The app can also alert you to local savings and pick personalized deals based on your location and shopping habits.
Flipp – weekly shopping
Flipp lets you browse thousands of weekly ads, flyers and coupons from major retailers like Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar General and more. This nifty local deals app makes it super simple to save on every essentials, groceries, household and pharmacy items. Simply download the app for free and search for what’s on sale at stores near you. Access weekly circulars with no cost, get location-based notifications and updates, and make the most of paperless couponing straight to your phone.
GeoQpons – local discount app
This local discount app acts as a coupons consolidator so you can find location-based discounts as you shop on the high street. It provides a sortable list of local retailers with instant access to awesome deals and coupons on your favorite products. Using your current location, it gets you the best local deals and offers from stores and malls nearby. It combines in-store and online coupons, clearance sales, shopping lists and loyalty cards for shopping at top retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, Sephora, Walgreens, Macy’s and many more.
The Coupons App – local deals and freebies
The Coupons App acts like a newsletter that’s updated daily with the best local deals. You really have to read through it but its money-savings are pretty impressive. It automatically applies shopping promo codes at checkout when shopping thousands of retailers online. Plus it alerts you to local sales, discounts and free item giveaways near you.
Local Deals and No Bids Finder
Local Deals and No Bids Finder lets you find local deals and zero bid items on eBay. Forget about traveling for miles to collect purchases or getting stuck in bidding wars. This app takes the pain away. Get local results based on your postcode and how far you’re prepared to travel, grab no reserve products for a fraction of the price, and find last minute auctions that are ending soon. This local deals app make it easy to find all the best bargains in your area
Download it on Android
Shopkick- get paid for scanning barcodes
Shopkick lets you earn free gift cards for shopping online or at your local grocery store. You can even get paid just for walking into your local store and scanning items. Get ‘kicks’ when you walk into any partner store, scan select barcodes or make purchases. Or shop 80+ online stores through the app to earn with every order. Don’t want to leave the couch? You can earn kicks just for watching videos and browsing content in the Shopkick app.
Drench – deals and offers in your area
Built with cutting edge technology, Drench works totally in real time alerting you instantly to exclusive local deals. Used by shopaholics, restaurant lovers and anyone who loves a good deal, this brilliant app saves you the stress of having to rifle through myriad coupon and discount apps to find the best offers. Download the app for free, share your location and then when you’re out and about get ‘drenched’ with local offers and discounts from retailers, restaurants and more.
Vouchercloud – local deals near me
No list of local deals apps would be complete without mentioning Vouchercloud. Find thousands of free vouchers and discount codes from all your favorite brands, with new deals added every week. From fashion and beauty, to groceries, utilities, restaurant vouchers and much more. Download the free Vouchercloud app and you’ll be on your way to finding the best local offers near and around you.
ShopSavvy – find the best local deals
ShopSavvy lets you save some serious money by bringing you all the best deals from every store. Scan barcodes or search for any product to compare prices and find the best bargains. It scans millions of products from thousands of stores and brands to get you the best local deals. Find discounts at Macy’s, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and any more. Some stores will even give you cash back.
How do I find local deals near me?
Still asking the question, how do I find deals near me? Here are a few tips.
- Use local deals apps: One of the best ways to find local deals near you is to use local deals apps. Check out the apps in this article, or do a simple Google search to find heaps more local discount apps to choose from.
- Sign up for loyalty cards: A great way to find local deals near you is to sign up for your grocery store’s loyalty card or club card. You’ll get great in-store discounts along with other perks like deals on dining out, days out with the kids, travel deals and more.
- Check coupon websites: Don’t just rely on local deals apps. You’ll find a whole host of websites and browser extensions for exclusive shopping deals and bargains.
- Scout out social media: Another way to score great local deals is to follow your favorite brands on Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. Many retailers announce sales on their social media or offer discounts and freebies to people who engage with their social profiles.
- Use other money-saving apps: Check out other money saving apps such as the best gas apps, grocery apps, smart home apps and more. You can check these out over on the PlotProjects blog.
Are you a business with a local deals app?
PlotProjects offers a range of powerful tools that can be used to build accurate and efficient location functionalities into your mobile apps. Our extensive geofencing SDK is quick to set up and easy to use, offering all the tools you need to build and manage your campaigns. While our PlotRewards API is an out-of-the-box solution that compiles local deals together for your app or website.
PlotProjects is working with more and more local deals apps to offer location-based alerts about local deals to users. To talk to us about how our technology can benefit your app, get in touch today. Our team is on-hand to offer all the help and advice you need. Want to get started? Sign up for our free trial today.
Other useful resources
- Money saving apps
- Free apps to beat inflation
- Examples of geofencing
- How to set up geofencing
- Gas apps – 10 gas saving apps
- Best Delivery Management Software