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Health & Fitness

Free text messaging services for holiday shoppers

Texting and shopping-a perfect combo

Tired of cramming coupons in your pocket as you dash to the mall to catch the latest door-buster sale?  Your smartphone just may save you some time and money.

Most retailers send customers coupons and deals via text messages. You need to “opt in” to these  “friends and family deals”.  I’ve taken advantage of some great discounts by getting text messages from my favorite stores.  But you need to keep in mind that text messaging rates do apply.

So before you opt in to presumably save time and money; it pays to do a little research to discover what free text messaging shopping services are available.  

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AT&T just launched “AT&T Alerts” - compatible with most AT&T smartphones. The service relies on geo-location technology that’s smart enough to know where you are and then sends you texts based on your buying preferences to your mobile device. This technology works off nearby cell site signals to find a phone and not GPS services.  Brands involved include The Gap, Staples, Zales and Last Call by Neiman Marcus, as well as product makers Duracell, Motorola, and the Discover credit card. You can also customize your preferences online.  To sign up for the service, AT&T wireless customers just need to text "JOIN" to ATTAlerts.  The text messages to and from AT&T are free. Right now customers signing up will receive $5 off of a minimum $10 purchase at ATT.com. Happy shopping!


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