**This post originally appeared at iPhone Life where Adam is a featured blogger.

Have you guys gotten into using store apps at all yet? How great are they? I think it’s really reinventing the shopping experience, and eventually, we’ll be able to order everything from our phones.

Think of how much time we’ll save!

I loathe going to the grocery store, so my favorite store app out of everything I have is Peapod by Stop & Shop. I realize Peapod isn’t available everywhere, but for those of you who can get it; it’s the best thing ever. Let’s say you’re riding in the car and you remember a grocery item you’d like to get. You just whip out your phone and add it to your list. If you run out of something, you can scan the barcode in and Peapod adds it to your order. The most beautiful thing about this is that all your food gets delivered to your house on the day and time of your choosing. YES!  The guy comes in a truck, brings it into your house for you, and drops it on the kitchen counter.

I haven’t set foot in a grocery store in months, and I’m a better man for it. I don’t make impulse purchases anymore because I’m not wandering around the store aisles and tossing random things into my carriage (what ever possessed me to buy that jar of Borscht?) I think that’s one of the biggest benefits to all of the apps I’m going to talk about today. You tend to only get what you need when you’re ordering from your phone. Not only does it save time, but it saves you from impulse buying.

I’m going to admit something to you, iPhone Life-ers. Call me a metrosexual, but I love my skin care products (They make me look moments younger!). So naturally, I’m into the Sephora To Go app. With it, I can track the products I’ve bought in the past, find out how many rewards points I have, read product reviews and look up ingredients. The sweetest part is that I can buy things right from the app!  Plus, they have special offers exclusively for app users!

But when I’m not using the app to make purchases, I go into the store because it’s really hard to buy a fragrance online. They still haven’t figured out how to make a scratch and sniff app yet, so until they do I have to step into the store. Have you guys been in there?  The associates there walk the floor carrying pimped out iPods complete with credit card scanners so they can ring you up right in the middle of the store! They also have little printers in case you need a paper receipt. Some stores even have iPads available to use as a way for customers to access product information.

They’re really doing some cool stuff with mobile, and I think they’re ones to watch as innovation and mobile friendliness are clearly big priorities.

And how could I have a list like this without mentioning Amazon Mobile?  That’s pretty much my go-to source for everything under the sun! With it, I can search, get product details, read reviews, and purchase anything I need from Amazon and other merchants. It’s incredibly convenient and all I have to do is sign in to my existing account to access my shopping cart and saved items. I can even still use my Prime membership benefits, which is totally sweet.

I can also compare prices with it, so if I’m in a different store and I see something I want, I can scan the barcode, take a picture, or type the product name into the search window to compare Amazon’s price against the price in the store. Talk about saving time and money! 

Are you guys as addicted to Target as I am?  My wife and I go in there for something simple like dishwasher detergent and we come out with a new patio set. This is exactly why the Target app is critical for me.  No more browsing aisles and picking up random things because now I can get only what I need and then get out before I lose control of myself.  I realize this is probably not what Target wants to hear, but hey.  They’re not hurting for business, so they’re probably good with it.

How did we ever get things done before all this, iPhone Life-ers?

I have no idea, but the future looks bright as more and more stores are joining the mobile friendly party with some great apps to make shopping with them more convenient.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some shopping to do!