You might expect to be able to use CarPlay to listen to Apple Music, make phone calls, and more. But did you ever think that you'd be able to order your dinner using it as well?

Now you can, with Domino's Pizza updating its iPhone app to add support for CarPlay for the first time. The result? You can tap or call to order your pizza right from the comfort of your own car, removing the need to place your order in the drive-thru.

Want to order even more quickly? Domino's Easy Order feature will let you order a preconfigured pizza.

Anyone for pizza?

Domino's announced the new feature via a press release, saying that customers now have "the convenience of ordering a delicious meal from your car.'

"Customers have two ordering options via Domino's app on CarPlay: 'Tap to Order' or 'Call to Order'," Domino's says. "Tap to Order lets customers submit their saved Easy Order or one of their most recent orders, while "Call to Order" allows them to place the order of their choice, hands-free, by talking to a customer service representative."

This news makes Domino's the first pizza company to offer such a CarPlay-based ordering facility and one of the first of any kind of restaurant.

We wouldn't have had Domino's down as the app to get us excited about CarPlay again but here we are.

Whether or not apps like this could be enough to make General Motors backtrack on its decision to ditch CarPlay for its future electric vehicles remains to be seen of course. But the backlash to that decision has been swift, so you never do know.

Apple CarPlay is available on a whole host of devices and not just the best iPhones. In fact, anyone with an iPhone 5 or newer can take advantage of the feature.

What you need to know

• Online shopping meets IRL.
• Retailers like Faherty are already using the tool.
• It creates a real, authentic experience.

Even before the pandemic, consumers were shifting their shopping habits from brick and mortar stores to online. However, at least one aspect of real-life shopping is making a comeback of sorts. HERO, the No. 1 virtual shopping platform, recently introduced Stories. The new option allows retailers to create and publish highly authentic videos, giving online shoppers a more engaging experience.

Already being used by Ted Baker, Faherty, and others, Stories makes it possible to create shoppable, short-form one-to-many videos that bring products to life, which are then easily shareable in online stories. But, as HERO explains, with Stories, stores are the new studios, and store associates are the new creators.

According to Adam Levene, Founder of HERO, "For too long, eCommerce has been purely transactional. With Stories, retail brands can now easily create the kind of real, authentic, and short form video content today's shoppers are craving."

The Stories tool has largely been created with Gen-Z and Millenials in mind, two groups critical in shaping the future of commerce. In a recent survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers, HERO found shoppers miss seeing products in real life even though they prefer shopping online. However, static product images and boring text descriptions are no longer cutting it online.

With Stories, a compromise of sorts has been created. Thanks to the new tool, the online shopping experience can now feature short, relevant videos that store associates and product experts can place easily online.

As Chris Cairns, Concept & Development retail manager, noted, "Making it possible for shoppers to click through to products and shop the story encourages our experts to get on there and get talking about our products."

To get started with HERO's new tool, store stakeholders' shoot Stories using the Hero app. They then tag the video with the relevant SKUs, then share their creations for review. Once the videos get approved by the retailer, they contextually appear on the product page. Office teams can easily track sales, engagement, and the overall impact of each video.

For more information about Stories, visit the official HERO site.

Perhaps you've looked at the slick bridal magazines and designer gowns but you've decided that vibe is so not your thing. So where do you go to find that perfect wedding dress that fits your retro style? Save money and time and shop online. These websites showcase beautiful vintage wedding dresses at reasonable prices.

• Etsy
• eBay
• Millcrest Vintage
• Unique Vintage
• The Ivy Retreat

Etsy

Etsy is an incredible marketplace for both handmade and vintage items. Whether you want an actual vintage gown or a handmade retro style gown created just for you, you'll find plenty of options. While you're here, you can also buy wedding decor, stationery, jewelry, and bridal party thank-you gifts.

Shop at Etsy

eBay

Of course eBay is an obvious place to look for vintage and worn-once wedding gowns. Their seller ratings and buyer protections help you put your mind at ease when you're making this kind of investment. You can also find just about any kind of wedding accessory you might need.

Shop at eBay

Millcrest Vintage

Millcrest Vintage is a straightforward vintage dress online shop. You won't find accessories or new dresses made to look old here. Once a gown is gone, it's gone. Shop by era: Edwardian, for example, or any specific decade from the 1920s to the 1980s. Virtually all of the dresses are under $400, with some under $150.

Shop at Millcrest Vintage

Unique Vintage

Unique Vintage isn't a vintage shop at all, but rather, it's vintage-inspired. Regardless, you'll find a large selection of brand new vintage style wedding dresses, shoes, and accessories. You can also find bridesmaids dresses and wedding guest dresses with that retro flair. There are a number of retro style wedding dresses under $50 here.

Shop at Unique Vintage

The Ivy Retreat

The Ivy Retreat is a true vintage shop, carefully curated with gowns from the 1930s through the 1970s. Each gown is one of a kind. Prices start well under $200. You won't find any other wedding accessories besides dresses at The Ivy Retreat, but there are many other vintage items unrelated to weddings here.

Shop at The Ivy Retreat

Have you shopped for vintage wedding gowns online? What is your favorite website? Let us know in the comments.

Let's get extremely real for a second: I hate choosing clothes. For me, the pain I experience getting dressed every morning is about equivalent to the pain I'd experience if someone smashed me in the head with a frying pan, without the sweet relief of unconsciousness after. Even though I have a closet full of clothing items, I am not one of the lucky few born with an inherent ability to figure out how best to put them together to form a coherent and flattering outfit. You have to take so much into account when getting dressed — the weather, where you're headed once you get dressed, color, shape, pattern, accessories … it's all way too much. I've basically resigned myself to being somebody who cycles through the same three outfits that I'm most comfortable in that look sort of acceptable. Because of all this, the new and improved Cladwell app for iOS sounds like a crazy dream come true to me.

• Cladwell Daily Outfits - Free - Download now

Cladwell essentially coaches you through decreasing the number of items in your closet until you're left with a sleek and minimalist capsule wardrobe. Once you've done that, the app will then give you expertly styled outfit suggestions based on things like current trends and what the weather's like that day. Because you'll use the clothing you already own, there's no shopping required (unless you want to completely overhaul your look). Cladwell isn't interested in selling you clothes, it just wants to help you wear them.

In order to use the app, you have to sign up for a Cladwell subscription. You can choose a monthly, six-month, or yearlong plan priced at $7.99, $35.94, and $39.99 respectively. If you want to just try it out for a few days to see if its for you before committing, Cladwell offers a three-day free trial. After that, according to their website, the steps for setting up your account will be as follows:

1. Choose items from Cladwell's ever-growing database of clothing that are similar to the items you have in your closet (no photos required).
2. Organize your clothing pieces by category. For instance, blazers might go in your "Work" category, whereas slouchy tees may go in your "Weekend" category. You can also make categories for each of the four seasons, or for even more specific activities like "Camping" or "Concerts" or "Vacation to Iceland." This way you can see clothes in their individual categories or view your closet as a whole.
3. Once you choose your category, you'll automatically get three expertly styled outfits that are appropriate for the weather that day.
4. After you've found an outfit you really dig and want to wear, you can choose to save it to a log. This is a really cool feature because after using the app for a bit, you may start to see patterns emerge that will help you gain better insight into what you love wearing and what you don't.
5. Once you figure out what items of clothing you're never wearing, you can de-clutter your closet and get rid of them!

After all that, if you do choose to shop, you can more expertly choose pieces that will give you the most clothing combinations you love.

If you want to get a feel for the company's vibes, I'd recommend you check out Cladwell's blog for more info.

Thoughts?

Do you think using a service like Cladwell could help streamline your getting ready process? Let us know in the comments!

Online commerce giant eBay has launched a brand new version of its app for iPhone and iPad, which they call eBay 4.0. This update is meant to offer a more personalized eBay experience for both buyers and sellers, making it easier to browse through offers and find deals, as well as manage your own sales.

In particular, eBay 4.0 makes selling easier both for veterans and first-timers:

The eBay app is also a more personal experience for shoppers. Once you sign in, you can view a new Activity feed, which offers you updates on items that matter to you. There's also the new Shop tab, which is a curated blend of items just for you, organized by department.

You can grab eBay 4.0 from the App Store right now.

• Free - Download Now

Source: eBay

Purchx aims to solve one of the most tedious of shopping tasks: deciding which thing you should buy. Sure, there are some items you just know you want, but say you're trying to decide which printer to buy — instead of opening up a dozen tabs in your browser to compare, Purchx lets you select just one and then compare it with one tap to its top competitors.

The app, which is available free in the App Store, was originally launched a few years ago as Consumr, which was acquired by advertising and publishing firm Purch in March of 2015. Now it's relaunched as Purchx (and version 4.0), bringing barcode scanning to the product comparison game. Scan one product on the store shelf, scan the other one that you can't decide between, and compare prices, ratings, reviews, and more.

Purchx's database includes more than 3 million products, spanning everything from electronics and home appliances to grocery items, skin care, and sporting goods. The app breaks things down by category if you just want to browse, and also offers an Expert Picks section with the highest rated products in each category. And, of course, you can search through text as well if that's more your style.

In addition to the Purchx app, Purch is also launching the Purch Marketplace web store, offering electronics, software, and smart home accessories with curated reviews and content from the web and Purch properties and partners (including our sister site Android Central). Purch Marketplace is integrated into PurchX, though PurchX also offers users the option to purchase from other retailers like Amazon.

iMore is a Purch advertising partner.

• Free - Download Now

Press release:

Purch Makes Shopping Easy With New Purchx App & Purch Marketplace

Content and commerce innovator retools recently acquired Consumr app to create the ultimate mobile shopping companion; launches Purch Marketplace, a one-stop online shopping hub for tech enthusiasts

NEW YORK, NY (July 14, 2015) – Purch, a digital content and commerce company, today announced the launch of Purchx for iOS, as well as the debut of Purch Marketplace. With Purchx and Purch Marketplace, Purch elevates the shopping experience for tech enthusiasts wherever they are, in-store and online.

Originally acquired by Purch in March 2015 as Consumr, Purchx is the ultimate mobile resource for in-store consumer reviews and comparison shopping on more than 3,000,000 peer-reviewed products. Shoppers can use the app on iPhone or iPad to access all the information they need – from insightful product reviews by like-minded shoppers to price comparisons to store locations nearby – to make smarter, faster purchase decisions that work with their budget. Shoppers can also earn perks for helping other shoppers make better decisions.

"As a company, we're constantly seeking new ways to enhance the buying experience for everyday shoppers," said Doug Llewellyn, COO of Purch. "Purchx builds on our online success with our reviews sites by creating a one-stop mobile resource for in-store or on-the-go shoppers, and giving them all the info they need to find the best possible product in the easiest, most convenient way possible. It's an all-in-one mobile product guide."

New Purchx features include:

Scan and Compare – By simply scanning one or multiple barcodes or searching and browsing products in-app, shoppers can see product comparisons and reviews from Purchx's vast category library, including electronics, toys, beauty, baby, grocery, hair care, health, home and garden, personal and skin care, pet care products, sporting goods, and more. Allowing multiple scans in one session provide a best in breed product scanning experience to Consumers looking to read and compare more than one product at a time in retail.

Rewards and Leaderboard – Beyond the shopping benefits, Purchx will also feature an enhanced rewards program that allows shoppers to earn points and collect real rewards from some of today's top brands - just by engaging with the app. Users can even keep track of where they rank all-time against other shoppers through the Purchx Leaderboard.

Comparison Shopping 2.0 – Shoppers using Purchx will be able to evaluate products in a way they were not able to before by letting them compare the key pros and cons of products across a given category and even compare a specific product to its top-20 competitors instantly. The App now includes a proprietary comparison engine that leverages big data to surface key differences and similarities between products in many technology categories. Our own editors from across the Purch family of brands have also ranked and weighted hundreds of product attributes as part of our proprietary engine – lending Purch expertise to the consumer product review and comparison experience.

Purch Badges – Purchx will also serve as the introduction of "Purch Badges," a marriage of Purch's leading reviews sites, like Top Ten Reviews, Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, Business News Daily, Laptopmag.com, Live Science and in-app Purchx content. Purch Badges highlight products that have been favorably reviewed across Purch's sites, giving shoppers access to expert insight and evaluations in addition to consumer driven reviews.

Buy Nearby – For shoppers browsing at home or on-the-go, Purchx brings them one step closer to their purchase through an intuitive "Buy Nearby" feature. "Buy Nearby" allows them to call a store directly to inquire about product availability and to reserve items for pick-up at the location that is most convenient for them. (NOTE: This is not new)

Improved Design and Experience – Purchx has been completely redesigned keeping the user in mind. Enhanced with sleek aesthetics, simplified navigation and new category screens, Purchx was built to give users a best-in-class mobile shopping experience that minimalizes "digging" for necessary information.

In addition to Purchx, Purch has also debuted the brand-new Purch Marketplace, a marriage of curated online shopping and relevant content. Through the Purch Marketplace, online shoppers can browse and buy highly-rated technology spanning three distinct product and service stores: electronics, software, and smart home, with additional stores forthcoming. Every product featured on the Purch Marketplace has been reviewed and rated across Purch's popular portfolio of sites, including Top Ten Reviews, Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, Live Science and SPACE.com, ensuring shoppers are selecting from only the best product and services in each category. The new Purch Marketplace also prominently links users to our other ecommerce destinations as such as the Space.com and Live Science stores as well as our premier partner Android Central.

"The Purch Marketplace is the perfect union of what we offer to interested shoppers," added Llewellyn. "Our readers go to our brands to figure out how to make the best possible decision when considering a purchase. Technology is an investment, so they want to feel confident and comfortable as they go through that process. What we've done with Purch Marketplace is combine our valuable content with a highly-curated online shopping experience that gives users the information they need and the products they want, all in a single, online environment."

Purch Marketplace has also been integrated into the Purchx shopping experience. Purchx shoppers will be able to buy items directly from the Purch Marketplace in just a few clicks.

With the debut of Purchx and Purch Marketplace, Purch continues its mission to simplify purchase decisions for shoppers. Each year, Purch's content-commerce combination drives more than one billion dollars in commerce transactions. The company recently closed $135 million in funding to help fuel its strategy and growth through acquisitions and investments.

The latest update for eBay for iPhone puts the marketplace right on your wrist with Apple Watch support. On the Apple Watch, you can keep track of your eBay activity, including notifications, items you're watching, your bids, and what you're selling.

Also new in eBay 3.6 is full support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Check out the list below for the full set of changes.

• Stay on top of your eBay activity and bid from your Apple Watch
• iPhone 6/Plus support
• Simplified search by country
• Sellers: donate to your favorite charities when you list an item for sale (USA and UK only)
• 1Password extension
• Bug fixes

You can download the latest version of eBay for iPhone from the App Store right now.

• Free - Download Now

eBay will spin off its online payment division PayPal into its own separate, and publicly traded, company sometime in the second half of 2015. eBay claims that keeping PayPal around beyond 2015 "clearly becomes less advantageous to each business strategically and competitively."

eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion way back in 2002. In announcing today's separation, eBay said:

Devin Wenig, who currently serves as eBay's Marketplaces leader, will become the new CEO of the company when the PayPal spin off is complete. Dan Schulman, previously the president of American Express's Enterprise Growth Group, has been named as President of PayPal and is currently scheduled to be its CEO when the two companies part ways.

Do you think it is a good decision for eBay and PayPal to separate?

Source: eBay

eBay has announced today that users of the popular service should change their passwords immediately due to a cyber attack that compromised a database containing encrypted passwords. A press release sent out by the company stresses that only non-financial data was affected.

Hastily investigating the matter, eBay found no evidence of any unauthorized access to financial or credit card information, but we strongly urge all readers to pop into their accounts and make the change regardless.

PayPal on-the-other-hand has not been affected in this case and there's reportedly no evidence of attacks on the separated networks. We would, however, recommend you change PayPal passwords too just to be on the safe side, especially if yours are memorable and/or weak.

Later today, eBay will fire out email reminders to its userbase and will publish alerts through social channels to have their passwords altered. Also, while we're on the subject, take this as a friendly reminder as to why it's not such a good idea to have the same password for every account you have.

Source: BusinessWire

Press Release

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) said beginning later today it will be asking eBay users to change their passwords because of a cyberattack that compromised a database containing encrypted passwords and other non-financial data. After conducting extensive tests on its networks, the company said it has no evidence of the compromise resulting in unauthorized activity for eBay users, and no evidence of any unauthorized access to financial or credit card information, which is stored separately in encrypted formats. However, changing passwords is a best practice and will help enhance security for eBay users.

Information security and customer data protection are of paramount importance to eBay Inc., and eBay regrets any inconvenience or concern that this password reset may cause our customers. We know our customers trust us with their information, and we take seriously our commitment to maintaining a safe, secure and trusted global marketplace.

Cyberattackers compromised a small number of employee log-in credentials, allowing unauthorized access to eBay's corporate network, the company said. Working with law enforcement and leading security experts, the company is aggressively investigating the matter and applying the best forensics tools and practices to protect customers.

The database, which was compromised between late February and early March, included eBay customers' name, encrypted password, email address, physical address, phone number and date of birth. However, the database did not contain financial information or other confidential personal information. The company said that the compromised employee log-in credentials were first detected about two weeks ago. Extensive forensics subsequently identified the compromised eBay database, resulting in the company's announcement today.

The company said it has seen no indication of increased fraudulent account activity on eBay. The company also said it has no evidence of unauthorized access or compromises to personal or financial information for PayPal users. PayPal data is stored separately on a secure network, and all PayPal financial information is encrypted.

Beginning later today, eBay users will be notified via email, site communications and other marketing channels to change their password. In addition to asking users to change their eBay password, the company said it also is encouraging any eBay user who utilized the same password on other sites to change those passwords, too. The same password should never be used across multiple sites or accounts.

Cheap iPads are being listed on Craigslist with a view to lure potential buyers to quiet car parks where they’re being robbed, sometimes at gun point. The latest scam comes from Uniontown, Fayette County and WTAE has the full story.

These types of scams appear to be happening all over the U.S. and all over the world too; we have heard reports of similar types of scams, not that long ago in the UK. That particular scam involved iPhone and iPads in sealed boxes which when opened were filled with water bottles or potatoes.

Deals like these are always a tempting way to grab yourself an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch at a knock down price but you must use a bit of common sense; if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is too good to be true so stay well away. If you can’t pass up on a deal, make sure you at least arrange to meet any potential sellers in a very public place, not in a car lot, late at night.

Have you bought any Apple products through Craigslist or eBay? What advice would you offer to buyers so they can remain safe during a buying meet up?

Source: WTAE

Svpply offers fun, beautiful, and social way to shop from a a curated collection of products and stores from around the world from your iPhone and iPad. Featuring over 70,000 stores and brands and 1.1 million products, a gorgeous UI, and a way to follow what your friends buy and want, Svpply is a shopper's dream come true.

Svpply is broken down into six categories: men's women's, tech, media, home, art, and other. Selecting one of these categories will break down into even more categories, making it easy to shop for a specific type of item. Selecting a most specific sub-category isn't a requirement, however, so if you just want to browse general categories, you can.

In addition to browsing by category, Svpply also lets you search. I found this to be the only way to could shop for children and baby products, as there is no category for kids.

When viewing an item, a larger version of the photo is displayed, as well as it's price range, name, and which store it's from. You can then choose to mark it as something you want, collect it into a personal collection, or buy. Tapping buy will send you to the vendor's website in the built-in browser. Unfortunately, this is the only way to actually view more photos of the item. I wish Svpply gathered all of the photos from the store's website, not just one.

If you keep scrolling down the items page, you can see which people want it and browse through similar items. If you added the item to a collection, you can also view that collection. Lastly, you can view any comments that have been made about the item and leave a comment of your own.

Once you've marked some items as "want" and created some collections, you can head over to the "You" tab to view these items. There is also a category of things you own, but I cannot figure how to actually add items to this category.

The feed is where you can see the activity of your friends (who have been added by connecting your account with Twitter or Facebook). You can filter your feed by category, gender, and price. As you scroll through your feed, you'll the items that have been wanted by your friends with options to want them or collect them yourself.

The good

• Adds a social element to shopping
• Beautiful UI
• Create personal collections
• Lots of categories and sub-categories
• over 70,000 stores and brands
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• No kids category
• Must tap buy and visit vendor's website to see more photos
• Can't figure out to mark that you own an item
• Can't connect to both Twitter and Facebook, only one

The bottom line

I really enjoy using Svpply to window shop for anything from clothing, shoes, decorations, and art. I haven't actually purchased anything yet, but Svpply is working as a bookmarking system for me to reference when I'm ready to buy. Creating personal collections reminds of Pinterest -- in a good way.

Free - Download Now

If you live in New England, New York or New Jersey and shop at Stop & Shop, now you not only can you bring your own bags, but you can use your iPhone to scan your groceries and then check out of the store. When it works, it is a blast.

Now Shopping apps aren't new –- we highlight some in our recent best free apps post.  The nice thing about shopping apps is that they can really make our lives easier and allow us to see the iPhone for the productivity tool it can be.

I’m usually a pretty agreeable and social guy –- I like to talk and spend time interacting with friends and family; I just don’t enjoy interacting with most people who work at the grocery store or retail stores. When I shop (which I hate to do) I definitely employ the male stereotypical “hunter” mentality. I go in knowing what I want, I find it on my own, I buy it and I leave. Pretty simple.

Grocery shopping used to be a challenge for me – so I would make it a game with my kids. My goal would be to get in and out of the super-market without having forced human interaction with anyone. Usually I failed miserably.

Then, our local Stop & Shop introduced those little Scan it “guns” that you check out with your card, scan your stuff and then check out at a self check out. For the most part, this was a good solution – but you had to walk around with those dumb looking “wands” that inevitably ran out of charge or malfunctioned.

Stop & Shop has introduced the new SCAN IT! mobile app for iPhone and Android. The concept is pretty simple – download the app, input your loyalty card number and then connect to their special WiFi network in the store. Use the phone to scan your stuff and then scan an “exit code” and pay at a self-checkout. Sometimes, however, things in concept work better than they do in reality.

Once the app is downloaded, you will be prompted to input your Stop & Shop loyalty card number so that when you use the app –- it always knows who you are and credits your account with the loyalty points and coupons. Once the app is set up and ready to go, your phone will automatically connect to the Scan It mobile WiFi network in the store – you just need to make sure that you have WiFi turned on and have your phone set to discover available networks. .

Once you are connected, just touch the Scan It icon along the bottom row. The screen changes and a yellow Scan   button appears. Touch the Scan button and simply point your iPhone screen at the bar code of the product you wish to buy. Any in-store promotions are automatically reflected in the price and the item gets scanned and put into your cart automatically. Just let the camera focus on its own on the bar code and it scans it, applies discounts and puts it in your cart – very simple and cool.

One of the more annoying features of the app is that occasionally as you walk by something that is on sale a loud cash register sound is played and a coupon for the sale item shows on the screen. You can always just ignore it – but clearly it tries to get your attention to things on sale and it does a pretty good job of that.

You can always touch the Check Cart button to see what you have in your cart, what your running total is and how much you have saved on this trip. There is also a button to tap to remove an item from your cart – just touch that button and scan the item you want to remove – so far, pretty simple and lots of fun.

Achilles was the classic Greek hero – part of the Trojan war and prominent figure in Homer’s the Iliad.  Achilles had that one weak spot, however –- an arrow to his heel did him in. The “Achilles Heel” of using the SCAN IT mobile app is the checkout.

In fairness, I had several successful checkouts using the SCAN IT! app.  There is one flaw in the system, however, and that is that when you scan the “end shopping trip” bar code with your iPhone, you are still then required to produce your physical loyalty card and scan that at the register. It makes much more sense – since they system already knows your card number – to have your final scanning using the phone accomplish that task – but, the extra step, and, thus, the need to still have your plastic loyalty card with you – makes this somewhat cumbersome at checkout.

I can live with all that – but one recent experience at the checkout was absolutely maddening. I scanned the “end shopping” code with my phone and I then got a code displayed on my screen.

The LCD screen on the register said “Assistance Needed” which is code word for the dreaded audit. An employee comes and has to manually scan five or six items to make sure you are not defrauding the system. I get it – but it happens every fourth or fifth trip to the store, which is annoying.

Using the iPhone and SCAN IT! app, however – the experience shows all the flaws in the system. First and employee came over and said “I don’t know what to do since you used your phone.” So, a second employee came over – now forcing me to interact with yet another grocery store employee – and said:” I need to take your card and go get a scanning wand and come back.” So, the iPhone app, which is supposed to eliminate the need for the card and the scanning wand, now created a situation where the card and the wand were necessary to check out. The employee scanned the requisite number of items with the wand – which is so 2011 – and then I had to rescan my plastic card and then I could check out. Essentially, for that trip, the app on the iPhone was almost useless.

The good

• Very convenient
• Easy to set up and use
• When it works, it makes shopping almost fun

The bad

• The checkout process is not well thought out - When it works, it makes shopping almost fun

The bottom line

While SCAN IT! mobile shows lots of promise, there are still a few bugs to work out - especially the entire checkout process. This is a very usable app and really shows how stores are quickly understanding how consumers want to use their phones as productivity tools to make the little things in life easier - like grocery shopping.

Free - Download now

Do you use a grocery checkout app for your iPhone? We’d love to hear your experiences in our forums.

Itching to purchase a new electronic gadget or accessory and wish you could shop from the comfort of your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Whether you're looking to buy a bigger screen TV, some speakers, or even a brand new iPad, there are a ton of apps for just exactly that. Here are some of our favorites.

Amazon Mobile

Everyone who is familiar with online shopping knows that Amazon is one of the primary for just about anything, including electronics. With Amazon Mobile, you can shop for your latest gadget with ease from your iPhone or iPad. Additionally, you can shop for a friend or family member's a wish list or add items to your own.

Out and about and wish to compare the price of an item in a retail store with Amazon? Scan the barcode with Amazon Mobile to instantly search for the item. Once you place your order, you can also track its status in anticipation for its arrival.

• Free - App Store link

Apple Store

The Apple Store, online or retail, should be your first stop when shopping for Apple products, and the Apple Store app should be your first tap when shopping from your iPhone. In addition to online shopping, you can reserve items for in-store pickup, track your orders, and schedule appointments at the Genius Bar.

While visiting an Apple Store location, you can even purchase accessories on your own with EasyPay, request help, check in for reservations, and meet up with a Specialist at the store. Unfortunately, the Apple Store app is not a universal app, so there's no optimized version for the iPad. (Get on that, Apple!)

• Free - App Store link

Best Buy

If you have a Best Buy nearby, I'm sure it's one of your primary locations for picking up anything related to electronics. With the Best Buy app, you can do your shopping from the comfort of your iPhone. Now, if you need an HDMI cable for your Apple TV, you may be wondering why you'd want to shop for that with an app and wait for shipping when you can just drive a few miles down the road and pick it up now. Well, with the Best Buy app, you can verify that your local store has the item in stock, purchase it ahead of time, then head into the store and pick it up in person. You can also look up the Best Buy trade-in value for your Wii, Xbox, Sony and other video games. Shop smarter, not harder.

• Free - App Store link

Ebay

With the eBay apps for iPhone and iPad, you can can bring the word's largest marketplace with you wherever you go. And as all eBay shoppers know, this can be an essential asset to eBay shopping because you will receive instant alerts when you are outbid or when auctions are ending. In addition to shopping with the eBay app, you can sell your own items and upload photos directly from your iPhone or iPad's camera.

• Free for iPhone - App Store link
• Free for iPad - App Store link

Newegg Mobile

Looking to build a new PC or upgrade your iMac's ram? Newegg is likely your first stop for computer hardware or software purchases. With Newegg Mobile, you can shop from your iPhone - read reviews, view photos, and make purchases. You can also keep up with the latest deals, even when out and about.

• Free - App Store link

Your favorite electronics catalog?

So there you have them, our top 5 best electronics shopping apps for iPhone and iPad. Be sure to check out our other Top 5 picks, our Picks of the Week, and iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!

Google has released Google Shopper for iPhone, which was previously only available for Android devices. Google Shopper is an app that provides information on products that you may wish to buy and lets you read product reviews and compare prices at online and local stores, using location services.

You can search for a product using text input, Voice Search or by scanning the barcode with the iPhone camera. Once you have found the product you want, you can then find the item at nearby retailers and with some stores you can even check if they have it in stock. You can also build gift lists and star products for future purchase as well as share items with friends across your social network.

Google Shopper is available today via the App Store and works with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 running iOS 4.0 and above. The app is only available in English, for the United States and UK markets.

[iTunes Link]