Washington, Nov 10 (IANS): US retailers and shopping websites are rolling out applications to drum up business and help shoppers navigate the deeply discounted deals on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the US, which is considered the official start of the Christmas holiday shopping season, reported RIA Novosti.

One application created by the people behind the popular bargain hunting website TGIblackfriday.com, aggregates deals from various stores, and allows users to create virtual shopping lists that can be shared with friends and family. The app also sends push notifications to user's phones to alert them to recently added deals.

For the first time, the department store Macy's is launching its own Black Friday App.

The US chain teamed up with the online auction shop eBay to create an app that allows customers to browse specials unique to the shopper's local store.

There are also apps like Deal Taker and Fat Wallet. These applications allow users to search for specific products to find out which of their neighbourhood retailers is offering the better deal.

Consumers can also search the phrase "Black Friday" in the Android and Apple application stores to track down additional shopping applications to help navigate the Black Friday crowds.