SHOPPERS in Marlow are being given a helping hand with their Christmas gift hunting this year after the town was selected to benefit from a world-first ‘window shopper’ smartphone application.

The free app - 'Marlow Window Shopper' - has been created by Maidenhead-based creative agency Brash and allows shopper to create wishlists using pre-loaded information of every shop in Marlow.

Developers believe Marlow is the first town in the world to have its own app specially dedicated to window shopping.

And the launch coincides with the town council’s ‘Switch on and Shop’ event next Thursday, with eager shoppers able to use it to make their festive foraging that bit easier.

Brash director Peter Sheppard said: "We’re very proud to be launching the world’s first ‘window shopper’ app in Marlow and hope it is a great success.

"Not only will this solve a perennial problem for shoppers of remembering ‘what I saw and where’, but it will also support retailers in Marlow.

"We’ve really appreciated the help of Marlow Town Council who have been very supportive throughout."

Versions of the app will be available for iPhones and for Android handsets.

Marlow Town Council has championed the idea throughout the app’s development, and Marlow Chamber of Commerce has also welcomed its introduction.

To use the app, the shopper takes a photo of something they’ve seen in a shop, then finds the shop’s details in a pre-loaded list of Marlow’s retailers.

They then save the photo with the price and optional notes, which can be accessed at any time and easily shared via Facebook, Twitter or email.

Details for all Marlow’s shops are included in the app, including address, phone number and a link to the shop’s website if they have one, along with a short description.

The app also lists venues in the town, such as restaurants and pubs, and the key events taking place over the festive season.