App that compares grocery store prices

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#3204092 7-Mar-2024 13:31

With the supermarkets playing loose with the price of product a tool that would track the movements of prices at the supermarket would be very useful a "pricespy" for supermarkets. One could then be alerted when Items on your shopping list were on special etc.

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elpenguino

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#3204100 7-Mar-2024 14:02

Does this app get it's content by scraping the supermarket web pricing ?

Or rely on user submitted information?

If the government is serious about helping with the price of living difficulties, they could mandate a pricing API for big supermarket players.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

muppet

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#3204113 7-Mar-2024 14:20

Call me a cynical old man (because I am), but how do you REALLY save money with an app like this?

I get it for a Petrol Station app, where you're just buying ONE thing and you know it's going to be cheaper to buy it from X than Y.

But when you're going to the supermarket for your weekly ~50 things, what do you do? Enter them all into this and it's gonna tell you to go to X then Y then Z to save? Does it factor in the petrol and the extra time to visit 3 different places?

It seems like it would save you money on groceries, but waste money on petrol and leave you time poor.

Behodar

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#3204139 7-Mar-2024 15:11

elpenguino:

Does this app get it's content by scraping the supermarket web pricing ?

Yes. That's why it only works in locations with online ordering available.

mattwnz

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#3204143 7-Mar-2024 15:20

elpenguino:

Does this app get it's content by scraping the supermarket web pricing ?

Or rely on user submitted information?

If the government is serious about helping with the price of living difficulties, they could mandate a pricing API for big supermarket players.

Pretty sure it scrapes websites in some way. Yes they should have a pricing API, but do you think the government will mandate such a move and quickly?

mattwnz

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#3204146 7-Mar-2024 15:22

muppet:

Call me a cynical old man (because I am), but how do you REALLY save money with an app like this?

I get it for a Petrol Station app, where you're just buying ONE thing and you know it's going to be cheaper to buy it from X than Y.

But when you're going to the supermarket for your weekly ~50 things, what do you do? Enter them all into this and it's gonna tell you to go to X then Y then Z to save? Does it factor in the petrol and the extra time to visit 3 different places?

It seems like it would save you money on groceries, but waste money on petrol and leave you time poor.

Considering you can often save several dollars per item, people would save if they normally visit multiple supermarkets anyway. Or if they are close together or on the route. Often supermarkets don't stock all the products one buys anyway so you have to go to multiple stores.

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jonathan18

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#3204152 7-Mar-2024 15:26

muppet:

Call me a cynical old man (because I am), but how do you REALLY save money with an app like this?

I get it for a Petrol Station app, where you're just buying ONE thing and you know it's going to be cheaper to buy it from X than Y.

But when you're going to the supermarket for your weekly ~50 things, what do you do? Enter them all into this and it's gonna tell you to go to X then Y then Z to save? Does it factor in the petrol and the extra time to visit 3 different places?

It seems like it would save you money on groceries, but waste money on petrol and leave you time poor.

Yeah, I think you're looking at this a bit narrowly, and possibly very much from your own perspective.

It can be used in different ways, and the benefit (or otherwise) will depend on various factors - eg, if one is low income but spending a high amount (and proportion) of income on groceries then, yep, it may well be advantageous to track most of their shop via the app and visit multiple stores to save a decent amount (or at least make an informed decision not to if the difference isn't worth it). For those in smaller locations, there may well not be much of an inconvenience visiting multiple stores (certainly the case in my city!).

On the previous page I also highlighted one of the ways I use the app: "I use the ‘list’ function in a different way, saving items I like to keep an eye out to buy in bulk when on special (eg, barista oat milk, which is otherwise $5-6 a litre!)." I also use it as a way of tracking more expensive items that I'd prefer to buy on sale - chances are I'll visit at least two if not three different supermarkets each week, and this way it's an easy method to again save a few additional bucks.

networkn

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#3204167 7-Mar-2024 15:57

muppet:

Call me a cynical old man (because I am), but how do you REALLY save money with an app like this?

I get it for a Petrol Station app, where you're just buying ONE thing and you know it's going to be cheaper to buy it from X than Y.

But when you're going to the supermarket for your weekly ~50 things, what do you do? Enter them all into this and it's gonna tell you to go to X then Y then Z to save? Does it factor in the petrol and the extra time to visit 3 different places?

It seems like it would save you money on groceries, but waste money on petrol and leave you time poor.

My wife uses it, you can select specific supermarkets, which we have 3 different ones less than a 2 minute drive apart. Enter the item, it says which one has it cheapest. She does a click and collect for each one, and goes to all 3 supermarkets within about 15. Some weeks we have saved $100.

mattwnz

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#3204168 7-Mar-2024 16:01

IMO the Grocery Commissioner should be funding and running this app . They have had a lot of the hard work done for them.

Jase2985

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#3204173 7-Mar-2024 16:19

mattwnz:

IMO the Grocery Commissioner should be funding and running this app . They have had a lot of the hard work done for them.

they should be using it to find the massive discrepancies in prices for the same item, or items that are always on "sale" and fining supermarkets

elpenguino

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#3204201 7-Mar-2024 18:08

mattwnz:

elpenguino:

Does this app get it's content by scraping the supermarket web pricing ?

Or rely on user submitted information?

If the government is serious about helping with the price of living difficulties, they could mandate a pricing API for big supermarket players.

Pretty sure it scrapes websites in some way. Yes they should have a pricing API, but do you think the government will mandate such a move and quickly?

I doubt this government will cos 'regulation bad, free market good'. But the free market is not working so well that we've got reasonably priced groceries, so they should.

Another thing they could do is stop the situation such as we have here in Wellington's Northern burbs where there is two countdowns 200 metres apart.

Same situation exists in Napier with two countdowns on opposite sides of an intersection.

The second store only serves the purpose of blocking a competitor from setting up in the area. </off topic rant >

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

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chatterbox

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#3214830 5-Apr-2024 22:11

muppet:

Call me a cynical old man (because I am), but how do you REALLY save money with an app like this?

I get it for a Petrol Station app, where you're just buying ONE thing and you know it's going to be cheaper to buy it from X than Y.

But when you're going to the supermarket for your weekly ~50 things, what do you do? Enter them all into this and it's gonna tell you to go to X then Y then Z to save? Does it factor in the petrol and the extra time to visit 3 different places?

It seems like it would save you money on groceries, but waste money on petrol and leave you time poor.

It's saved me money on going to certain supermarkets and finding the specific item I want ISN'T there. That's been frustrating.

I have a bunch of supermarkets I pass so stopping in isn't a big deal to pak n save, countdown, new world. They're all enroute and there are a few more around other areas I visit.

I actually hate paying full price for items that regularly go on sale that I don't need immediately so I wait. The app helps with timing those purchases. I can walk to one particular supermarket anyway.

GreatDane

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#3372970 14-May-2025 08:39

Recently the grocer app was updated. Since then I have had trouble using the scanner option. My wife recently changed phones and is now also having trouble with the scanner. It may be related to both of us now having Samsung phones. I have had to delete the app and reload it twice. It keeps asking me to give the app permission to use my camera but I cannot find how to do this.

The new app restricts you to 6 supermarkets unless you buy the premium option.

It is still a good app but now has more limitations with the aim of making you pay to use it.

richms

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#3372995 14-May-2025 11:09

muppet:

But when you're going to the supermarket for your weekly ~50 things, what do you do? Enter them all into this and it's gonna tell you to go to X then Y then Z to save? Does it factor in the petrol and the extra time to visit 3 different places?

It seems like it would save you money on groceries, but waste money on petrol and leave you time poor.

People will do that just to save a few dollars. Its a case of people putting no value on their free time.

Richard rich.ms

Behodar

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#3372997 14-May-2025 11:12

GreatDane:

Recently the grocer app was updated. Since then I have had trouble using the scanner option. My wife recently changed phones and is now also having trouble with the scanner. It may be related to both of us now having Samsung phones. I have had to delete the app and reload it twice. It keeps asking me to give the app permission to use my camera but I cannot find how to do this.

The new app restricts you to 6 supermarkets unless you buy the premium option.

It is still a good app but now has more limitations with the aim of making you pay to use it.

It also doesn't seem - unless I'm missing it - to have the option of sorting by price. If I want butter, then I don't want to scroll through all the different brands until I find the cheapest one. I just want to put it at the top.

Of course the other issue is that things like "butter chicken" also appear in the search results.

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