Best Apps for Grocery Shopping

Every little bit helps when it comes to saving money at the grocery store. Coupon savings add up quickly, but most people do not have the time or the patience to cut, clip, sort, and store coupons. Fortunately, there is an abundance of smartphone apps that can help you find and access coupons quickly, even on the go.

Many of these apps also have features to help you with your overall grocery shopping, either through organization or notification tools. Here are some of the more helpful examples.

Cellfire – This app allows you to search for coupons either as an electronic coupon that can be displayed and scanned on your cell phone, or applied directly to your loyalty card with a particular grocery chain.
Coupons.com – The Coupons.com app contains a huge database of coupons for any format – either printable, downloadable to loyalty cards, or as codes for online transactions.
Favado.com – Favado is a sales notification and price-checking app that allows you to set up specific products in your “shopping list”. When the items you specify go on sale, Favado notifies you of the sale price and location. With its searching and notification capabilities, Favado complements sites such as Cellfire and Coupons.com – but Favado does not currently link with these sites, or allow downloadable coupons that you can scan directly from your smartphone.
Key Ring – Owned by the newspaper-publishing group Gannett, Key Ring allows you to input all of your loyalty cards into the app and access and organize coupons that can be redeemed via your smartphone. It also allows you to create grocery lists and access many retail circulars. It may seem odd that a newspaper publisher allows you to bypass the newspaper to see circulars, which are a big part of their advertising – but traditional print newspapers are adapting as they must to the mobile digital age. A useful service like Key Ring will have a positive effect on the user's perception of the publisher's brand.
SnipSnap – This unique site allows you to snap a picture of a standard printed coupon and use it at stores on your mobile phone, as well as providing a large database of coupons to choose from and download.
Grocery iQ – Build your database “grocery list” of favorites by using the smartphone camera to input the bar code – or for those items like ice cream that never scan well, you can type in the UPC code. Grocery iQ includes a coupon gallery for downloading printable coupons and e-mailing them to a computer for printing. This app is part of the same network as Coupons.com
The Coupons App – This app also features a barcode reader that allows you to scan and search for deals, as well as a coupon updating function to help you find deals. This app made the 2012 list of 50 Best Apps for Parents.

Aside from these apps, check your local media outlets (TV, newspapers and radio stations) for other grocery and coupon-related apps. They may have apps that perform similar functions for grocery stores and pharmacies that advertise on their media platforms.

For any app you want to try out, be sure to check compatibility with your phone. Many apps are available for both Android and Apple systems, but verify that you have the correct and sufficiently updated operating system.

We also suggest checking online reviews and blogs for any glitches or complaints. You may find helpful hints on how to best use the app.

Find your favorite app and let it help you save… and feel free to use some of your savings for a rewarding trip down the cookie aisle.