Grocery items fluctuate in price all the time and between stores. For more expensive items (especially non perishable ones), a 20/30/50% discount can mean hefty savings. One option is to scan the weekly catalogues for your local grocery stores. A more tech savvy and less time consuming way is to use one of the many grocery comparison apps or websites. Most of these allow you to check not only the specials, but all of the grocery items in the stores. Feedback from the apps/websites have them being quite accurate, but you may find the odd price not matching the shop price. If this works and saves you money even 90% of the time, then they are worth your while.
So far, Frugal is my favourite grocery comparison App. Available for iOS and Android, but unfortunately not on the internet/desktop.
You can use this app 1 of 2 ways. You can just add all the items to your shopping list and the app will tell you how much in total it will cost you if you go to Coles and how much if you go to Woolies. Then you choose the cheapest store and buy everything from them.
The other way, which is the way I’m using it, is to create a Coles shopping list and a Woolies shopping list. Then you do 2 shops, one at Coles, one at Woolies. So you buy the products that are cheaper at Coles from Coles and same with Woolies. If you prefer something from one shop over the other regardless of price, just add it to the store you want it from. The example below is going to use this method of going to both shops.
You can find products you want to add to your list by:
1. Browse by category
2. Search
3. Browse current specials
4. Scan the barcode with your phone
Once find a product you want, press the love heart to make it a favourite. Then go find and favourite at least anything you buy regularly. Once you have done this go to your favourites, (Under My Lists). Find the items you want to buy. Make sure the Best Prices box is green at the top. See which store it’s cheapest at. Change the quantity of the first item you want to buy, then click the plus sign next to it and add it to the Coles or Woolies shopping list depending on what it’s showing as the cheapest.
Once your done, press My Lists and click on the Coles list. It will show you all the things you are buying from Coles and vice versa with the Woolies list.
It would be nice if you could print or export the list. You can share it, but it will msg/email/share a link which needs to be opened in the Frugl app on another phone/tablet.
GroceryGetter is another option. This one is web only, but you can save it as a home screen icon on iOS and Android, so it feels like an app.
This one you can only add to your lists by searching or browsing items. Again, I would create 2 lists, Coles and Woolies. Search or browse for your items and it will show you which shop is the cheapest and it will have selected the cheapest option. Click add and it will add it to that list. On your right you can see your lists. There you can adjust quantities. If your using it on your phone or tablet, you can take it with you to the shops and go through the list and delete them off the list as you put them in the trolley. If you are not using it on a phone, once you are done, click Next at the bottom of the current list. Then you can check your list for that shop, and print it off (or save it as a pdf). Select the other store from the drop down at the top and then check and print that one off.
Just be aware, this can be a little buggy at times and just freezes. If so, log out and back in and all good. Testing it, it only did it twice, so not really a major issue, but an issue non the less
Another option is WiseList. This is iOS and Android only, no web or desktop versions.
This app does grocery comparisons, but it also does other things like recipes, bill payment reminders etc.
I found this one a little harder to work with. You can find items, favourite them (into My List) and also put them into 2 categories, Temporary Needs and Weekly Essentials. I can’t see how you can split them into 2 lists, My List just shows you all your items and which one is cheaper (or if they are the same price. So it works, but I think Frugl and GroceryGetter are better
