As much as I love spending time at the mall looking at and trying on shoes, by the end of the day, my feet are killing me.
How ironic is that?
Fortunately I can now satisfy my obsession with some fantastic free iPhone apps. No matter where I’m at—riding the subway, waiting in line, laying awake in bed at night—I can check out the latest fashions and find the next pair of shoes I just must have.
Check these out. I think you’ll enjoy these five free shoe apps as much as I do.
1. iLoveShoes.
Given the name of this free iPhone app, you know I had to make it first on our list. The team at iLoveShoes reviews the latest and greatest new shoes each week and brings them to your iPhone. Altogether you have access to more than 60,000 shoes. You can search by specific type or brand, or idle away your free time browsing the great fashions. Share your finds on Facebook and make your buys from top retailers. Even better, they donate one pair of shoes through Sole4Souls every time you make a purchase.
2. iShoes.
“What’s the difference between iShoes and iLoveShoes?” you may ask. Well, first off, the latter has the word “Love” between the “i” and the “Shoes.” In many ways they are similar in how you’re able to search and browse. iShoes features brands sold by more than 100 retailers. You can also download shoes so you can browse them later, like when you’re on an airplane with no wi-fi or cellphone access. Since both iLoveShoes and iShoes are free iOS apps, install them both and see which you prefer.
3. Zappos.
In the early days of the Internet, I always thought shoes sales would be a tough category to adapt to the online environment, because shoppers need to try on shoes. How wrong was I? Zappos, with free shipping and easy returns, nailed it. They did it so well, Amazon.com snapped the company up in 2009. This is everything you would expect from a retailer that has proved to be among the most tech savvy in the industry. It features great photos, including many hi-def images and 360 degree views. You can connect to your preferred social media for sharing, commenting and rating. You can even sign up to get notified when your favorite items come back in stock.
4. Today’s Shoe.
Now you don’t have to visit Fifth Avenue in New York City to browse the Bergdorf Goodman shoe department. This free app is like having a footwear fashionista in your smartphone who introduces you to a new pair of beautiful, high-end shoes every day. All the big names are here, like Prada, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Cho, Manolo Blahnik and others. Along with the daily featured shoe, you can look through the store’s entire shoe inventory. How much is airfare to New York?
5. Shoes.com.
If its ties to Bergdorf Goodman make the Today’s Shoe app a bit on the expensive and exclusive side, then we might consider Shoes.com to be the shoe shopping app for the rest of us. This one isn’t quite as slick looking and doesn’t have the social media connections the other apps have. However, if you read the reviews, you’ll find that some users are sick and tired of having every thing they do tied into Facebook. This is an excellent app for parents who need to do some shoe shopping for the entire family.
Carrie Thompson is a marketing strategist for clothing and shoe retailer, Zando. Check it out, click here.