iOS apps from Amazon and Target have been designed to simplify the holiday shopping process. Both retailers stock so many items you may find exactly what you want without having to visit a lot of stores either online or in person. Both Amazon and Target started giving holiday deals and shipping discounts way ahead of Black Friday.
No matter where you shop online, make sure you only use reputable websites and apps. Always shop online with caution.
For this article, I used an iPhone X and the latest version of Safari on iOS to review the Amazon and Target apps.
Get the Apps
The Amazon app for iOS can be found here, or you can also type "Amazon" into the App Store's search box. The Target iOS app is here, or type "Target" into the App Store's search box.
The Amazon iOS App
The Amazon app's main screen has many links on the page including Deal of the Day, Deals Recommended for You, and Trending Deals. In late October, there were 29 pages of links including many to find general gifts or cool tech gifts. Even with this much content, information was clearly labeled without a lot of clutter. Headings navigation was inconsistent; navigating by link or by flicking worked better.
At the top of the app screen are several buttons: Show Navigation, Home, Your Notifications, and Cart. Next is a search box followed by options to scan a bar code and talk to Alexa. The Show Navigation Menu, Home, Search, Your Notifications, and Cart buttons always are found at the top of each screen. The Back button is always at the top left of the screen.
The Show Menu button brings up a new screen with many options including Your Orders, Your Lists, Your Account, Customer Service, and Shop by Department. Activating this last option brings up a very extensive list. Selecting a department will bring up a new screen with even more options. For example, I selected the Pet Supplies department. The new screen had the option to shop by Pet Type or Best Sellers or to search in Pet Supplies. In Pet Type, I selected Dog. The next screen gave me an extensive category list including Food, Treats, and Toys. I selected Treats and got a new screen with both options to search by type and information about sale prices on some treats.
The Home button brings you back to the Home Screen. The Your Notifications button opens a screen containing information about your orders, messages, and deals. There is a Continue Shopping option near the bottom of the page. The Cart button presents a screen with items in your cart. There are options to delete an item, save it for later, and change the quantity ordered.
I decided to purchase a Fingerlings Untamed Dinosaur Raptor, a relatively inexpensive interactive toy.
I entered "Fingerlings Untamed Raptor" into the search box and activated the Search button that is near the bottom right corner. If you flick right from the top of the screen, you cannot get to the results. Links were not displayed in the rotor and headings did not work either. Get to results by first touching near the bottom of the screen. Then use headings navigation and flicking. Flicking works in both directions.
Each result had the item's name, manufacturer, customer rating, price, and shipping information. I chose the Razor (purple) Raptor. Activating the item's link loaded a new screen with the same information as on the results page, plus information that the item was in stock. Next were a quantity pop-up button and an Add to Cart button. There was also a link to add the item to my list. Below that was a Frequently Bought Together option, where Amazon recommends another item. In my case, it was another Fingerlings Raptor. If I bought both items, I would save some money.
I found the easiest way to navigate this first part of the results page was to flick right or flick left. Navigating by forms and headings was inconsistent.
Headings navigation accessed major sections of the page including Products Related to This Item, Have a Question, and About This Item.
Under the About This Item headings were three additional headings: Item Description, Features & Details, Important Information, and Safety Warning. Information in this section was clearly presented and there were links to watch product videos and to get additional information. Below that, there were options to read reviews from other customers and view questions and answers about the product.
When I activated the Add to Cart button, a new page loaded with a notification that the item was added to my cart, along with buttons to Proceed to Checkout button and Close. The Close button brought me back to the previous page.
The checkout process is straightforward. If you already have an Amazon account, you can quickly place your order.
Getting Help with the Amazon iOS App
The Customer Service section is located within the Show Navigation Menu, near the bottom of the screen. The Customer Service screen has many help topics to review. Near the bottom is the heading Need More Help, followed by a Contact Us link. When this link is activated, on the new screen is an edit box for your phone number and a Call Me Now link. Between the edit box for your number and the Call Me Now link is the estimated wait time. At noon on a Saturday morning, the wait was three minutes.
You can also contact Amazon's automated help system at 866-216-1072.
Conclusion
Amazon's iOS app is a very good option for finding items on your holiday gift list. It is relatively uncluttered and there are many search options. The only problem was not being able to use headings navigation initially on some of the screens. Live customer support is also a plus.
Personally, I prefer Amazon's app to its website and accessible website.
The Target iOS App
Target's main screen has many clearly labeled links. At the top of the Home screen is a search form and an option to scan a bar code. Next are many options including Kids Daily Deals, Trending Offers, and Celebrate with Deals. There are ten pages of information on the main screen. The best way to insure you have read every section is to flick with one finger, because headings navigation is inconsistent and the rotor did not have link or form options for the main screen.
At the bottom of the main screen are five tabs: Shop, My List, Wallet, Cart, and a tab with your first name. On all screens, the search option is always at the top of the screen and tabs are always at the bottom. The Back button for getting out of a tab is in the upper left. By default, the Shop tab is selected and it brings you to the main screen. The My List tab has items that you add to your list while shopping. The Wallet tab contains information on coupons and other benefits.
The Cart tab contains any items you have added to your cart. It may also show you items that you have recently viewed, but not yet added to your cart. The last tab contains your profile, redeemed offers, payment cards, orders, and more.
The search button is at the bottom right corner. I entered the same search terms into the search form as I did on the Amazon app, "Fingerlings Untamed Dinosaur Raptor." As I typed, I heard the number of search results. By the time I was on the last word, there was only one search result. Unfortunately, it was not the item I wanted.
I then searched for a wireless charger for my iPhone. I typed "Belkin charger" into the Search box and received 50 results. I refined my search to "Belkin wireless charger," and performed a new search. This time, I received 26 results. Results could be navigated with the Headings item in the rotor. Under the name of each result were the customer rating and how many reviews were posted.
I selected the Belkin Boost UP wireless charger. The next screen showed images of the charger, but they were not labeled. Headings navigation did not work, and there were no rotor options for links or forms. After the images were the same information about customer rating followed by shipping and discounts. There was also a Ship It button. Use this button to add the item to your cart, as opposed to picking up the item at a Target Store. Next were three buttons: Product Details, Highlights, and Ratings and Reviews. The Product Details button loaded a screen with basic information about the charger including that Belkin worked with Apple to engineer this product. Information about weight, volts, and battery was also listed.
The Highlights button activated a screen which gave more information including which phones can be used with the charger and that the charger comes with an AC adaptor.
The Ratings & Reviews button will launch a screen containing customer reviews. Past the Ratings & Reviews button was a button for the return policy. Next were headings for what customers who shopped for this item also bought and headings for related offers.
Once I added the item to my cart, it appeared in the Cart tab. At the bottom of the Cart screen was a checkout button. The checkout process was straightforward.
Getting Help with the Target iOS App
The Help Center option is at the bottom of the screen in the last tab, the tab with your name on it. The Help Center screen has many categories including Help about Shipping and Help about Return Policy. The bottom option is Help about Call Guest Services. You then need to go through two pages to get the number, 800-591-3869.
Conclusion
Target's app works well, but it does have issues with headings navigation. Information is clearly displayed without a lot of clutter. There is more than one way to search. If you have an iPhone that supports Touch ID or Face ID, you can use it for authentication. Live help is there if you need it.
As with Amazon, I like using the Target iOS app more than its website.
The Bottom Line
Both Amazon and Target have done a very good job with their iOS apps, though improved navigation by headings would be extremely useful. Both apps contain a lot of information without a lot of clutter. My recommendation is to check out both apps and determine if you have a preference. I use Amazon more, because it has so many different items, but Target is still an excellent option.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
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