There are many ways to be frugal and save money. One major way to do this? Compare supermarkets’ prices and shop for the lowest-priced items using apps. While it may seem to make the most sense to just go to the cheapest grocery store, not all items are the cheapest at one particular store. Taking the time to compare supermarkets’ prices is a fundamental aspect of being frugal and thrifty.
There is some work with getting started with price comparing. For example, knowing which online tools to use and how often to use them. However, once you get in the habit of comparing, you’ll be well on your way to saving some serious cash on shopping for and preparing meals in the long-term!
Let’s dive into how to compare supermarket prices and why it’s a great way to practice frugal living. For most of us, grocery shopping is a major household expense. What does this mean? It’s a core part of our lives where we can control our spending and save money.
Read on to learn more about how to compare supermarket’s prices using apps.
How Do I Compare Supermarkets’ Prices at the Grocery Store?
How does one find the best deal at their regular grocery store? Simple: find the product, compare brands and find the lowest-priced item, correct?
Not so fast! Once you’ve found the lowest-priced item, you’ll need to confirm that the price per unit is the cheapest.
The Tale of Two Cans of Tomato Soup
I’ll explain with an example: Let’s say you’re comparing two cans of tomato soup. One is the brand-name of 355ml for $2.50 and the other is 450ml for $3.00. At first glance, the brand name item is cheaper, but you need to find the cost per unit to confirm this. In this case, the unit I’ll use to measure is ml.
Brand Name Soup
$2.50 / 325 ml x 100 = $0.76/100ml
Off-Brand Soup
$3.00 / 450 ml x 100 = $0.67/ml
Price per Unit, Brand Name vs. Off-Brand Name
$0.76 – $0.67 = $0.09
Therefore, despite a higher price, the larger can will not only last you longer, but it’ll be slightly cheaper. It may seem silly for such a small amount, but if you’re buying smaller, more expensive items in the short-term, you’ll lose out on long-term saving.
Being Mindful When Buying in Bulk
One important note to keep in mind when you compare supermarkets’ deals: not everyone has the privilege of buying larger items in higher quantities to save money long-term. I’ll use another example to explain my point.
Let’s compare two households: Household A and Household B. Household A is a family with 3 kids and 2 parents. Every other month, the family stocks up on toilet paper (5 to 10 large packs) when it goes on sale because the cost per unit is lower.
Household B contains a single mom with 2 kids. She is working 2 jobs and is barely scraping by. Sometimes, she has to choose between paying her internet bill on time and buying fresh groceries for the week. Does this family have the financial resources to: 1. take the time to calculate the cost per unit and 2. funds to stock up on toilet paper? Absolutely not! If you’re in a place of privilege, keep this in mind the next time you go to the grocery store.
While it’s ok to compare foods’ prices and stock up when items are on sale, it’s generally not ethical to completely clear the shelves. I know that most people don’t give this any thought, but if you’re in a position of financial privilege, it’s something to keep in mind. Let’s do what we can to help those who have less than us.
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How Do I Find the Best Deal at Multiple Grocery Stores?
How do you compare different prices not only at one grocery store, but at multiple stores? It’s quite simple, actually – using apps! In this day and age, we are very fortunate to have advanced tools like apps to help us compare prices when grocery shopping. There is no longer a need to sift through the huge pile of flyers from your Saturday morning paper – unless you still enjoy this process! I know a few people who still enjoy clipping coupons from local flyers. Besides the fact that most people receive digital news, price comparison apps will save you time. All of your coupons are stored in one place, and unless there is an issue with your phone or you forget it (no method is perfect), it’s the ideal way to save in local grocery stores.
Back when people were clipping paper coupons, there was a common misconception that people who did this either had to out of necessity because they were living on a low income, or were simply just cheapskates. This isn’t true at all! While many people need to save as much money as possible due to their financial situation, couponing is a smart practice that will save you money.
With the advent of apps, it’s easier than ever to get started with making shopping lists and finding the best grocery deals. Let’s learn about how to compare grocery prices with a few of these apps.
How to Get Started with Price Comparing
Once you’ve settled on a price comparing app (I’ll discuss the top ones shortly), take some time out of your week that you’ll dedicate to couponing. Before your workday starts or before you kick off a weekend of relaxation, write down each item you need to buy during your next grocery haul. If it’s your first time price comparing groceries, why not start with the basics – staples you always buy? For example, choose five items you always need in the house and need to buy during your next trip. You might choose eggs, milk, bread, butter and a couple staple vegetables you always buy. Personally, I go through a lot of tomatoes and lettuce, so I might choose these for my price comparison list.
Building Good Price Matching Habits
Once you learn how to compare prices at grocery stores, it’ll be easier to get into the habit of reviewing the stores’ prices before you decide where to buy your grocery items. Additionally, you’ll become familiar with which grocery stores generally sell the cheapest item. For example, one store may always have the cheapest produce, but another has the cheapest bread.
Be sure to check the cost per unit of each item, too. Just because at item is smaller with a lower price doesn’t mean it’ll cost you less in the long run.
Here’s a little bit of motivation for you: if you’re saving just $15 a week simply by price comparing, over the course of one year, you’ll save over $750.. $780 to be exact! While this may not be a life-changing amount for most, that’s the price of a weekend getaway or a few pieces of clothing purchased for your minimalist seasonal wardrobe! Alternatively, if you invest the money you’ve saved, you can benefit from compound interest. Just keep the end goal in sight: saving money and building positive, consistent habits.
Compare Supermarkets’ Prices Using Apps
While there are many price comparison apps out there, here are three top price matching apps to get you started.
Flipp App
Flipp is a very popular app – for a reason. Compare the same product at different stores. Flipp also offers a price-matching feature. If you visit a store that has price matching, they’ll honour the lowest price you show them. With Flipp, it’s easy to compare supermarkets’ prices before you go to the store.
ShopSavvy App
With the ShopSavvy app, you’ll check the price by scanning the barcode onto your phone. You’ll see which stores sell the item you’ve scanned and the price. If you don’t know the barcode or are unable to scan it, use the search feature. Enter the product you need to price compare and hit ‘search’.
Amazon Shopping App
While Amazon limits its price comparisons to its own website, this app can also help you save money. Just like the Shopsavvy app, scan the barcode or product using your camera.
How Do I Find the Best Deal at the Grocery Store with Price Matching?
As mentioned previously, some stores offer a price match guarantee. How do you go about price matching items? It might be daunting to do at first, but it’s a lot easier than you may think.
- Open the app you’ve chosen to compare supermarket prices and find the item to price match online. Let’s use an example. Let’s say you’re comparing the price of bread for Store A versus Store B. Store A has a cheaper price, but you want to go to Store B to get the best deal by showing the cashier the price from store A. Save the proof of the lower price (or print out the coupon if you’re old school!) from store A, to use as proof when price-matching at store B.
- Embark on your shopping trip – complete your regular shopping and keep your coupons ready for price-matching when it’s time to check out.
- Go to the cashier to start price-matching. Show the cashier the item you have and the coupon. Next, ask the cashier to price match. If the cashier doesn’t know what to do, be patient and wait for them to contact a coworker or manager to help them out. It may take a couple extra minutes, but it’ll be worth it.
- After you’re done grocery shopping and if you enjoy seeing how much money you’ve saved, write down a list of all the grocery items you price matched and how much you saved on each item. Log this in a notebook or an Excel/Google Sheets document – the choice is up to you. Over the course of 6 months or a year of logging your weekly savings, you’ll see them add up!
Advantages of Comparing Supermarkets’ Prices Using Apps
While it takes a bit of work to download price comparison apps for grocery shopping and get in the couponing spirit, there are two main benefits to doing this in addition to saving money:
- Increased exercise by walking to and from different stores/in and out of your car
- A feeling of satisfaction, knowing that you’re saving money to put to good use in other ways
Disadvantages of Comparing Supermarkets’ Prices Using Apps
While the benefits of learning how to compare supermarkets’ prices using apps drastically outweigh the cons, there are two major disadvantages.
Drawback #1: Opportunity Cost
The first drawback? Couponing, meal planning and cooking is time consuming! If you’re a busy, working thirty-something or a parent with a job, spouse, kids and other parts of life to juggle, you may struggle with finding time to consistently coupon. Additionally, life is a series of tradeoffs. What does that mean? Put simply, when you spend time doing something – whether it be working, leisure activities or even cooking, you don’t have that time to do something else.
There are some rare – and entertaining examples of taking couponing to the extreme. Shows like Extreme Couponing show how families stash thousands of items in their pantry and save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on household items. Many people don’t have the privilege of having storage space to stow extra items. Additionally, buying this many items is quite controversial because it goes along the lines of hoarding and greediness.
Drawback #2: Limited for Those without a Vehicle
Couponing might seem like an obvious way to save money and practice frugal living, but in reality, it may not makes sense for everyone. Those who do not own a car cannot as readily go to 2, 3 or 4 grocery stores to buy different items, simply because they found the cheapest deal. Using apps to compare supermarkets’ prices is generally the best idea for those with a vehicle. However, that doesn’t mean that those without a car can’t practice couponing. Apps like Flipp still allow you to see the price.
Additionally, if you live in a dense city, you may have grocery stores within walking distance of eachother – or a short subway ride away. If you choose to buy items at different stores, be mindful of your time. As mentioned above, life is a series of tradeoffs. If you’re spending 3 hours to simply save $1 on 3 different items, does that really make any sense? In my opinion, not really! You could be doing so many other things with your time.
To sum it up, compare prices, but also be mindful of: 1. where you live, 2. what grocery stores are nearby, and 3. how long your grocery store run will take if you choose to price compare at more than one store.
Conclusion: Compare Supermarkets’ Prices: Apps to Save You Money
After all we’ve covered, you may be wondering: is it worth my time and effort to compare supermarkets’ prices using apps? Absolutely! There’s some time involved in getting set up, but once you start on your frugal savings journey, you’ll be addicted and won’t want to stop.
Happy couponing!
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Janita is a frugal living expert and owner of Frugal Fun Finance. With over five years of personal experience finding and trying out the best ways to make and save more money, she's eager to share her knowledge. Janita's strategies have helped her save thousands of dollars for funding investments and traveling to over 20 countries.
Janita completed training in personal finance at The University of Western Ontario and McGill University, two prestigious Canadian universities. Her expertise has been shared on GoBankingRates, Yahoo Finance, and NASDAQ.com.
