The weekend following the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is the biggest shopping weekend of the year. It's when businesses usually finally make a profit for the year. It's called "going into the black," which is why the Friday following Thanksgiving in the U.S. is called Black Friday. A few years ago, a new shopping phenomenon was created: Cyber Monday.
On Cyber Monday, retail shops offer deep discounts on items that can only be purchased online (though the rules have been lax on that). We've got a list of the best iPhone apps for finding and tracking those Cyber Monday discounts that will keep you up past midnight and making purchases as fast as you fingers can tap the "Buy" button.
Cyber Monday 2017 Deals and Ads
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BuyVia always puts out fantastic shopping apps to help save you money, updated for each new event, and Cyber Monday is one of them. The app generates a list of all deals taking place on the web. Your preferences are stored in the app and new content is generated for you based on what you love. You'll find the lowest prices on Cyber Monday deals, and you'll receive alerts, just in case you miss anything.
- Free - Download now
Amazon
Of course, Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world, so it's the most obvious place to do your shopping this Cyber Monday. The company always has massive discounts throughout the day on Cyber Monday, usually every hour (sometimes more often). Discounts are limited in quantity, so you have to stay on top of the sales so you don't miss out on something you want because it sold out.
- Free - Download now
eBay
eBay is the other largest shopping website in the world, only it isn't based on a single retailer. Instead, the world sells its wares individually. It's sort of like a huge, international garage sale or swap meet where you can buy and sell new and used goods at low prices. On Cyber Monday, keep an eye out for discounts of up to 90% off (that's right, 90). Keep an eye on where items are shipping from. If it is out of the country, you may have trouble getting your gift in time for Christmas.
- Free - Download now
ShopSavvy
ShopSavvy provides a huge list of discounts from such websites as Groupon, Overstock, LivingSocial, and more. But, that's not the only great thing about it. You can also scan the bar code or QR code of an item and find discounts for those specific items. If you know you want to get dad that cool new gadget, don't settle for some off-brand version just because it's on sale. Use ShopSavvy to find the cheapest price for what you want.
- Free - Download now
Flipp
Flipp may be an app dedicated to rounding up all of the weekly advertisement pages of your local retailers, but that doesn't mean it's not perfect for finding great prices for Cyber Monday, too. Once you find the deal you're most excited about, you can visit the store's website to see if it's available as an online purchase or even something you can reserve for in-store pickup after you've made the purchase online.
- Free - Download now
SlickDeals
Slickdeals is like being tied into a group of shoppers that always find the best prices on things. People find great deals and post them to the Slickdeals site so everyone can get the discount. The Popular Deals section is where you'll find the hottest discounts for the Cyber Monday craze. Keep checking back for new additions throughout the weekend.
- Free - Download now
eBates
Ebates is not a sale-finding app, but it is a tool that will help you save money over the holiday shopping season. Every time you purchase something online from a participating retailer, you'll get a rebate. So, if you use Ebates as a gateway to all of your Cyber Monday shopping, you'll see big returns on your purchases a few months from now (the perfect time to pay off that credit card debt). Plus, the app includes information about current and upcoming sales from retailers, so you'll get the biggest discounts while getting a return on your spending.
- Free - eBates - Download now
Groupon
Groupon is a discount website where you can get huge savings on things to do in your neighborhood. It also features deep discounts on online purchases for things such as Bluetooth speakers and drones. This Cyber Monday, you'll have the chance to make purchases on items you never thought you could afford before, including Mac laptops and iPhones. Don't forget to check out the "Things To Do" tab to find discounts on events your family and friends might love as a gift, like Falconry training or boxing classes.
- Free - Download now
Thrifter
I don't know if you know this, but Thrifter is the new hotness this year. The team behind this deal-finding website got together the day before Thanksgiving in a hotel room somewhere in the U.S. and spent 24-hours straight (plus many more hours with small 3-hour breaks in-between) looking for all the best deals on the internet. In it's first year in business, Thrifter doesn't yet have an app (hopefully, it'll be ready by next Cyber Monday), but you can follow Thrifter on Twitter and create a shortcut to the website on your phone's Home screen so you can tap into it at any time to see what the deals are throughout the day. Here's how.
- Navigate to Thrifter.com using Safari on your iPhone or iPad (to put a website on your Home screen, you actually need to use Safari).
- Tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Add to Home screen
- Name the shortcut.
- Tap Add.
Your Cyber Monday go-tos?
Do you use a specific app to find all of the best deals on Cyber Monday? Put your favorites in the comments and tell us what makes them so special.
Updated November 2017: Added ShopSavvy, Flipp, and Thrifter for 2017's best Cyber Monday shopping apps.
