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An app that will save you money... or cost you money

A few hundred thousand cell phone apps are available to help you do everything from catalog your wardrobe to organize your grocery list. But in my experience, what often sounds like a useful app ends up being one I rarely use. For every 10 I get, I probably use only one with any kind of regularity. Even less often does an app actually help me save money.

That could change with the release of Shopkick. It's part of a genre of apps, known as "check in" apps, that use the GPS features of the phone to let others know where you are and what you've been up to. You can also use such apps to win virtual prizes or score points toward physical prizes. So far, the most popular of these apps is FourSquare, though others such as Gowalla, Whrrl, and SCVNGR are gaining in popularity.

Shopkick wants to take the idea of a location-based social app and put some real financial incentives behind it, so that it becomes more than just a passing fad but an actual money-saver for the user (and, of course, a revenue producer for businesses). If they keep signing big name retailers, as they've done with Best Buy, Shopkick could become a game-changer.

Shopkick has also upped the ante by installing custom hardware in participating Best Buy stores that will allow targeted offers and rewards based on the department you happen to be shopping in. To see the possible future of Shopkick, you can watch the video below.

I see some upside in this free service, though consumers will have to be careful. I mean yes, it could save you money. But there's also the possibility that Shopkick will have you doing scavenger hunts around the store, tempting you with special one-time offers that could lead you to spend more than you had planned. Time will tell.

If Shopkick signs up enough stores that I shop at regularly (grocery stores, gas stations, certain restaurants), significant savings could follow. But I'll have restrain myself and stick to my list. Impulse buys have been known to wreck many a budget.

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