Scan these apps to see if they work for you GROCERY SHOPPING

January 31, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Carrie Kirby

Chicago Tribune

Before we talk about using smart-phone apps to save money at the grocery store, let’s get something out of the way:

No application is going to save you enough money to pay for a fancy new phone, not to mention the data plan.

Now, if you already own a smart phone, such as Apple’s iPhone or Motorola’s Droid, lots of apps aim to make grocery shopping easier and save you money. Many of these apps are free; a few cost up to $5.

I tried some grocery apps while shopping for my daughter’s Daisy Girl Scouts troop. The troop needed to buy cheese, lunchmeat, bread, fruit and drinks to make sack lunches for a homeless shelter. I turned to my phone to get the job done under budget.

Here are some grocery tasks that your smart phone can do for you. The apps are free unless a price is listed, and they are available for both iPhone and Android unless a platform is listed.

Make a list

Apps: Grocery iQ, Grocery King ($4.99, Android), Shopper (99 cents, iPhone), WychList ($1.99, iPhone)

There were tools for making shopping lists before smart phones came along: pens and paper.

But a modern phone has the advantage of scanning bar codes using its onboard camera. Not only is it fun to point a phone at bar codes and listen to it beep, but it’s also easier than writing. You’re a lot more likely to keep track of and update your old list when it’s stored in your phone instead of lost under the floor mat of your car.

Using Grocery iQ, I scanned items I already had in the fridge that matched what I wanted to buy for the Daisy troop and saved them to a list. I could then e-mail that list to my husband if I want him to stop at the store on his way home.

Price compare

Apps: Google Shopper (Android), ShopSavvy

Darcey Olson of Austin, Texas, recently pointed her phone’s camera at the bar code on a frozen dinner to help her decide whether to buy it.

“They have some really good, new P.F. Chang’s frozen meals that were $7.99 at the grocery store. I scanned it so I could see if I should grab it at Target or Wal-Mart — or is this really a good price?” said Olson.

Olson hasn’t found an app that keeps tabs on prices at all her local grocery stores, but since the big-box stores often have low grocery prices, using an app that compares them makes a good bench mark.

Keep a price book

Apps: Price Book Shopping List (Android), WychList ($1.99, iPhone)

Keeping a record of the lowest price at which you find staple items is the cornerstone of frugal grocery shopping. I know this, but I have never had the discipline to maintain a price book. I don’t want to carry a notebook in addition to my coupon files and loyalty cards.

The ease of doing all that on my phone, which I usually have with me anyway, encouraged me to start a new price book.

Compare sizes

Apps: Unit Price Compare (Android), CompareMe (iPhone, $1.99)

The store usually prints the price per unit on the shelf, but what if I want to compare a 12-pack of 12-ounce drinks to a four-pack of 500-milliliter bottles? These apps do the math.

Get discounts

Apps: Grocery IQ

University of Minnesota student Chelsey A. Johnson uses Grocery iQ’s coupon feature: She selects coupons for items she’s added to her shopping list, then receives e-mails she can print at home.

“It’s way easier than looking through weekly deal leaflets,” Johnson wrote in an e-mail.

Conclusion

I enjoyed the futuristic feel of zapping items in the dairy case, but I doubt I’ll stick with any of these apps — except maybe Price Book Shopping List.

My hands are already pretty full when I shop, what with juggling coupons, a cart and a kid or three.

If I find an app that combines a bar code scanner with up-to-date price data for local grocery stores — not just national stores and Web stores — that might make it worth pushing buttons on my phone while the kids are pushing my buttons.