These valuable Windows 10 apps will help with holiday shopping

Wunderlist on Lumia
Wunderlist on Lumia (Image credit: Windows Central)

If you're making a list and checking it twice, you'll need these apps to help you get your holiday shopping done, nice.

This time of year often brings a flurry of gifts and giving. Finding the best deals and keeping track of all your purchases can add stress to your holiday. These are the best Windows 10 apps to help you get through your holiday shopping.

Unfortunately, the Microsoft Store has a dearth of shopping apps when compared to the Google Play Store and iOS. The Amazon app is just a web wrapper, and the shopping category within the Microsoft Store only lists six apps, many of which haven't been updated in a long time. So instead of a list of shopping apps, these are the best apps to help you get your shopping done by staying organized and lowering your stress level.

Wunderlist

Between friends, family, your work's Secret Santa, and treating yourself, your holiday shopping list can be a hassle to keep track of. Wunderlist is a great to-do list app that you can also use to stay on top of your shopping list. It's available on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile and also works with Android and iOS so you can take your list with you wherever you go.

Wunderlist lets you share lists with people as well which helps you make sure an item isn't purchased twice. This is especially handy for parents and couples who need to buy a lot of gifts. If one of you sees a gift for a good deal, you can just buy it and tick it off the list, making sure that your partner doesn't grab the same item on the way home.

The app also supports due dates and calendar integration to help you stay on schedule. You can also assign specific items on lists to people to divide and conquer when it comes to your holiday shopping.

See in Microsoft Store

Packages Tracker

While shoppers are swarming physical stores, many people relax in their pajamas and order their gifts from home. Packages Tracker allows you to easily follow your packages that are being delivered from a variety of carriers. It works across Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, and even Hololens.

The app has an easy to use design and supports notifications for when your shipments arrive. The app is free, but if you want to track an unlimited number of packages, you'll have to upgrade for $1.49.

See in Microsoft Store

Spending Tracker

The holidays can be a pricey time of year. Spending Tracker helps you identify where you spend your money and track both your expenses and your income. You'll have to remain diligent because the app relies on you entering transaction data rather than linking to any of your bank accounts.

The app allows you to split your expenses into separate categories and gives you a variety of visual graphs to help you understand where your money is going. The app has an older design, but it's also available on iOS and Android which is a big boost to users with devices on multiple platforms. The app has been around for years and earned high rankings when it comes to helping people stay aware of their finances. And if you budget correctly it'll be that much easier to purchase the right gifts this holiday season.

See in Microsoft Store

Spotify

Music isn't going to help you physically get your shopping done, but it can help remind you of the reason you celebrate this time of year. Spotify is an extremely popular music streaming service that has seasonal playlists full of holiday music. You can also make your own playlists and share them with friends, which by itself could be a nice gift.

See in Microsoft Store

Honorary non-app mention: Thrifter

There isn't a Thrifter app available on Windows 10, but they're the Mobile Nations site that is focused on finding you great deals. You'll often see deals on our site that the Thrifter team spotted. It's worth following them on social media and keeping an eye on their website to see how much you can save on a wide variety of items.

Summing things up

The key to a good gift is getting something thoughtful. The key to getting shopping done is planning and staying organized. These apps will help you keep track of what you've purchased and ordered, track where your orders are, and help you manage your finances to make sure you don't break the bank this holiday season.

Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com.