As my husband sneaks off on a bike ride this morning, I’m at home with the kiddos working on their Christmas lists. My daughter has a pretty firm idea of what she’d like to ask Santa for this year, but my son is still on the fence, which leads me to believe that Santa will be doing some last minute packing of his sleigh this year.
So as the kids carefully add items to their lists, I’ve been fooling around with a new app on my iPhone, RedLaser – and I have to say, it’s pretty neat. In general, I’m not a big app person; I only download apps that I will truly use on a regular basis, and it looks like RedLaser will earn a coveted spot in my apps folder.
My most favorite thing about RedLaser is its speed. Patience is not a virture of mine (although I try daily) and there is nothing I hate more than waiting for an app to load. In my world, if you want me to use your app, it better load fast because in Mommydom, anything could happen. My kids might color themselves head-to-toe with markers, or they might pour paint all over the basement floor, or they might cut off each other’s hair – and then your app will be all but forgotten.
But, as I said – RedLaser is fast. I simply punch in what I’m looking for and in seconds, it spits out a list of stores that are carrying the item along with price comparisons. As of this morning, I was searching for: men’s newton gravity running shoes. Hey, wait a minute – I absolutely did not put that search term in here. I guess my husband was fooling around with the app before he left for his ride. Maybe that’s a hint for Santa?
Anywho, what I was searching for was entirely different – I was in the market for: battery powered outdoor willow branches. Last year, I picked up an awesome vintage milk pail at a garage sale and I have been itching to fill it up with some natural-looking lights for Christmas.
Within seconds, it returned several search results with remarkably clear pictures. This is a bonus because shopping solely for price is not always the best way. On this occasion, the lowest priced branches were not what I envisioned; however, a slightly higher priced option from Sturbridge Yankee Workshop suited my needs perfectly.
Another favorite feature of mine is the RedLaser “Deals” section, which is powered by RetailMeNot.com. I always use RetailMeNot.com before placing any order online, so I was happy to see this feature as well.
By visiting the “Deals” section first, I was able to search for a Boden coupon (I just love their clothes!), and once it found a coupon for me, I was able “copy” it. Then when I visited Boden via RedLaser, it automatically placed the coupon in my shopping cart. I saved 15% off my order and got free shipping too – cool beans!
I also have to mention RedLaser‘s “Scan” feature. I’ve downloaded other barcode scanning apps in the past and have promptly deleted them for their shoddy scanning capabilities.
But RedLaser‘s scanner is easy to use and scans clearly – which is super important if you’ve ever tried to scan something with your kids simultaneously trying to grab your phone out of your hands! (Because they can never have enough self-portraits of themselves in the grocery store!)
Anyways, the most useful reason I have for scanning grocery items is that it lists the “Allergens Info” for the scanned product. This is very important for me when I’m buying snacks for a class party. We have so many peanut-allergies in our school, and I love that the scanner notifies me right away of any potential issues.
It’s also helpful because even though I do not have a nut allergy, I suffer from diverticulitis, so I’m off of nuts too. If I would have used it the other day, I would have noticed that I accidentally bought Tate’s Walnut Chocolate Chip instead of their regular chocolate chip cookies – boo for me!
Regardless of what your shopping needs may be, the RedLaser app is definitely a useful tool. I’ve used it several times now and I’m quite pleased with the results. If you’re looking for a handy-dandy new app to streamline your buying process, download it here.
Happy shopping,
Denine
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This post is brought to you by RedLaser. Get the free app at RedLaser.
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