It's rare to meet someone without a smartphone these days. Even those from older generations have them. Many people no longer have landlines because they feel like a cell phone is sufficient.

These people certainly use their smartphones to make phone calls and send text messages. They might use them to keep up with their friends on social media or to check work emails. Shopping is one other thing that more and more individuals do on their smartphones these days as well.

If you're a shopaholic, you probably have some favorite websites that you like to visit and favorite apps that you're always utilizing to look for deals. In this article, we'll talk about a few shopping apps that we feel are indispensable.

Amazon

If it's hard to find someone without a smartphone these days, it's even tougher to locate someone with a smartphone who does not have the Amazon app. The reality is that you can find virtually anything on Amazon, and it's more than likely that it will come to you within just a few days, especially if you have Amazon Prime to speed it on its way.

Maybe you just learned that the American Cancer Society stated that each year, 21,410 women will receive an ovarian cancer diagnosis. You decide that you want to locate an authoritative ovarian cancer book to find out more about it. You can go on Amazon, find the best available book, and order it.

You can get a new toaster, a sprinkler to water your lawn or a brand-new stereo. You might go for a baseball bat, a bird feeder, or some hair scrunchies. You might need to restock your pantry, so you order a dozen of your favorite canned soups, saving you a trip to the store.

If Amazon saw a lot of business before the pandemic, it is now such an entrenched part of modern society that it's hard not to succumb it its allure. Maybe that is why Jeff Bezos has so many billions of dollars.

Alibaba

The Alibaba app is another dedicated shopper must-have. Alibaba gives you access to a bunch of overseas stores. You can get all kinds of cheap goods there, such as sweaters, socks, sunglasses, undershirts, and other sundries.

What's so nice about Alibaba is that you can get realistic knockoffs if you are a label junkie. Maybe you love high-end Prada or Gucci bags. Perhaps you're more into scarves or gloves.

You can easily get any of those on Alibaba. They will cost only a fraction of what you'd pay for the real thing, and you can get an entire new flashy wardrobe for just a couple of hundred dollars or less.

The only issue is that if you want your new clothing or whatever you bought for a party next weekend, you probably won't get it in time. Many of the items you can buy on there come from China, and they can take multiple weeks to get to you. By that time, you might have nearly forgotten that you ordered anything, and it will be a total surprise when it shows up on your doorstep.

Etsy

Etsy is another kind of shopper's paradise. The app lets you access a whole array of hand-made products.

You can find things there for people who love Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Maybe you want a nice Game of Thrones-style flagon for your dad's birthday or a hand-crafted Middle Earth map.

There are so many stores to wander through and explore, but what you might like most about Etsy is that when you buy from there, you're supporting small businesses and craftspeople. Many are probably struggling during the pandemic, and it's sometimes nicer to help out the little guy than to give your money to a multi-billionaire like Bezos.

You can also mark the stores there that you like, so you can go back and visit them again at some point down the line. If you enjoy someone's crafting style, you can try back in a few months to see If they have anything new.

eBay

eBay is where you can bid against other people around the world to try and land the bargain of your dreams. You can look there for crafts, but you're better off battling over the latest hot sneakers, a brand-new video game system like the PS5, or perhaps you want a rare comic book or baseball card.

Some people don't enjoy eBay's frantic bidding aspect. Once you get the app, though, you'll quickly notice that most of the items also have a handy "Buy Now" option. 

That means you can get whatever you have your eye on for a preset price if you can afford it. This way, you can walk away with whatever you want. You don't have to bid against some kid in Kansas who, for some inexplicable reason, wants the same coffee mug that you do.  

Here's an extra word of caution: if you have an iPhone, then whenever you download and use these apps, make sure that you only get them through the App Store. That is the recognized place where you can get a shopping app, and you don't have to worry about any of its security features.

If you jailbreak an iPhone, that means you can get non-iPhone-approved shopping apps. There are some you might get that way that you can't find otherwise.

The only problem is that if you do this, you don't know that Apple has vetted that app. There might be malicious code on there, and you don't want to be blasé about revealing your credit card number to just any business entity online. Identity theft frequently happens that way.

Once you have these apps, you can shop to your heart's content. Just be sure not to spend more than you can afford. With so many exciting apps and products out there, it's easy to go overboard.