This Google App Will Help You Shop Local in SF for the Holidays

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Every Monday is Cyber Monday! Welcome to our new weekly series that highlights the fashion and retail apps emerging from Bay Area.

Taking a stroll around a neighborhood has never been so informative as with Google's Field Trip app, which uses your location to aggregate content from various online sources (including Racked, Arcadia Publishing, and Zagat) to reveal local gems and noteworthy happenings in the 'hood. And just in time for holiday shopping, the app has partnered with Shopikon, a shopping guide that highlights local, independent stores. Take a day to learn more about SF by setting your Field Trip app on "explore" mode. You might end up a lighter wallet, but you'll have gained a wealth of local knowledge (which everyone knows can be worth its weight in gold).

Shopikon first launched in Europe (Vienna, to be exact) and only recently crossed the pond to the States. Currently, the platform features just two US cities, San Francisco and New York, but will soon expand to Los Angeles. If you're an in-the-know Bay Area local, you might not discover a ton on Field Trip you didn't already know. The app has cataloged just 100 indie stores in the SF database so far (they're shooting for 150 by March). But for a visitor or newcomer, the guide is helpful in pinpointing tried-and-true local favorites.

For example, when exploring the Mission, we were directed to The Voyager Shop, a wonderful store full of delights for both men and women. The Shopikon review provides a comprehensive (and appealing) image gallery of the space as well as a good read on the story behind the store (every review on Shopikon incorporates an interview with the shop owner). Field Trip will remind you it's close-by with a flute-like sound.

"We want users to discover the city like a local, and at the same time show locals shops they don't know and allow them to rediscover their own neighborhoods," Phillip Sulke, CEO and founder of Shopikon, tells us. We think the app may be most useful while visiting another city, or as a guide for shopping local throughout the holidays. And for those of you lucky ducks who "O.K. Glass," Field Trip is now compatible with Google Glass.
· Field Trip [Official Site]
· Shopikon [Official Site]
· 5 SF-Based, Under the Radar Apps to Download Now [Racked SF]