Shopping app downloads way up this year

Forget comfortable shoes, energy drinks and a killer parking spot. It seems that in the quest for an optimal holiday shopping experience, iPhones and Blackberrys are the new must-have tools.

The Wall Street Journal reports that downloads of shopping apps with an emphasis on price comparison (i.e., make sure Nordstrom doesn't charge less for that pea coat before you snap it up at Bloomingdale's) are up by a whopping 77% from last year.