The idea of mobile/social shopping has really caught on with the imagination of most of the tech-savvy people. A huge number of companies have cropped up to make hay while the sun shines on the trends related to social shopping. Most companies are working day and night to enhance the overall shopping experience on our mobile devices.

Some of the apps work like this: you walk into this online store which lists a plethora of featured products. Depending on the categories that you select, the items will be displayed. Some of the games feature interactive games that different marketers have created for similar brands. Consumers scan for relevant products and also focus on the ads which are attached with them. Most of these apps are free initially but one has to shell out some money for buying the advanced version of the apps. All the social shopping apps have tie-ups with different brands and companies which enables fans of the brand to shop easily while on the move.

There are geolocation shopping apps which lets you shop with the help of Google maps API and lets you choose the destination for a good physical shopping experience. You can rate the shopping experience on a particular scale and recommend to others online. With the help of social media integration such as Facebook and Twitter, the apps have widened the scope of shopping and sharing via online media.

The rating system also helps brands and companies to assess the level of interest that people have for their brand as well as products. The companies can then plan the next marketing strategy as well as product launches using the statistics that the apps generate related to the average browsing experience. Most apps have even started the "photo-tagging" feature for the iPhone as well as for Android. Even search results within the apps are pretty much sleek and relevant like Google Search.

The latest social apps are planning to couple the Augmented Reality functionality along with Motion Capture which will help users to "virtually" shop online and even post status updates, photos and videos online so that you can get comments and suggestions in real-time from friends before you actually commit to buy a dress or a gadget!

The latest features have been released in alpha stage and will need some changes for removing some kinks that might be present in the app. But with the new innovative steps that the companies are taking to lure the audience, the user is in for a treat!