Apple Debuts A New “Shopping” Category On The App Store

Confirming earlier reports, Apple today is debuting a new category to its App Store that will help consumers better locate mobile shopping applications. The “Shopping” category will be available worldwide, and will feature apps that span across omni-channel, auctions, price comparison, product reviews and more. These applications were previously listed in the App Store’s “Lifestyle” section, which made them more difficult to surface, as they were listed alongside a wide range of applications, including dating apps, journals, smart home application, real estate and home improvement apps, nightlife apps, wedding apps and more.

Now those that enable commerce will get their own section – which could have the potential to boost discoverability, downloads, and sales for App Store developers as well as larger businesses like Amazon, Walmart and Groupon, who develop mobile shopping apps.