Back in the day, all most shoppers needed when making that weekly trip to the market was a hand-written list of necessary items and a shopping cart. And while the same is basically true today, modern technology facilitates shopping in more ways than ever – even grocery shopping. As for the best way to streamline the grocery-shopping process: mobile applications.
Yes, the phrase “there’s an app for that” extends to the world of grocery shopping as well. In fact, there are a number of applications specifically geared towards helping folks get the most out of their trip to supermarket. The trick is narrowing the playing field.
So in the interest of shining a light on those most worthwhile options, here is a list of the top 5 grocery apps on the market.
Grocery IQ – free
Billing itself as “the #1 grocery shopping list app” (and it has write-ups from Forbes and GigaOM.com to buttress that claim), Grocery IQ allows users to create lists via an extensive product database. On top of that, the app comes with a barcode scanner that allows shoppers to quickly scan a product in order to get info and save for later. Users can also send this info to other mobile devices and search for up-to-date coupons right from the app.
GrocerEaze – free
This is a popular option for cost tracking. The app provides an extensive product database and tallies up the prices of lists the user inputs into the system. Users can even add new foods as well as food photos to the database.
Shopper — $0.99
This app endeavors to be nothing more than a solid shopping assistant, and that is exactly what it achieves. It allows users to create and find recipes (it even makes recipe suggestions). It also offers an abundance of coupons, grocery fliers and daily deals from many top stores and brands.
Shopping List — $2.99
Those who are looking for a basic shopping aide would do well to download this option. Shopping List doesn’t come with as many features as some other apps, but it does provide everything the user needs to streamline his or her trip to the market. It also offers multiple shopping lists that can be shared across a number of mobile devices and even through email.
Grocery Gadget — $3.99
It comes with a hefty price tag (for a mobile app, anyway), but Grocery Gadget offers enough features and functionality to make it worth the purchase. Not only can users create and edit lists with this app, but it can also sink with recipe sources in order to provide immediate info about necessary ingredients that need to be purchased. The app also offers push alerts for last-minute items and users can link multiple accounts and share info with other users. It comes with a barcode scanner as well.
In the end, those shoppers who dread that weekly trip to the market may find that one or more of the above options can help carry the burden. In fact, installing just one of these apps on a person’s mobile device should provide enough help to not just make the trip to the grocery store more efficient, but save money in the process.
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written by: Rhonda Tillman
Rhonda Tillman is a professional blogger whose focus is on food and restaurant industry. She writes for My National Grocers, a restaurant supply company, that provides wholesale beverage mixes and other wholesale food service items.
Image courtesy of suphakit73 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
