Managing groceries at your fingertips

Doing groceries every week, every day even, is just another task we have to do, so it’s important to manage grocery shopping in an organized fashion if we want to get through our crazy days!

There are grocery management apps that can simplify your life. And now we can have our grocery list and flyers with us at all times on our smartphones.

Why use grocery and flyer apps?

So we don’t forget things

Most people take their cell phones with them wherever they go, so it’s easy to keep your grocery lists up-to-date and not forget items that you need in the kitchen (or the list itself). As well, in some cases, apps let you share your lists which means that your significant other or even your kids can add products directly to the app. This way, you’ll never forget any of the family’s special requests!

To save money

Did you know that the grocery cart cost of an average household (2.3 people) has increased 25% over the last ten years from $85 to $106 per week? That’s why it’s important to manage your groceries! Making a list decreases spending by twice the amount when in store. In fact, if you respect your list, you’re less likely to make impulse purchases thereby decreasing the amount of your bill. As well, flyers let you stay on top of the latest rebates in different stores and in this way, get what you need at the lowest price.

To save time

Using mobile apps to look at flyers is quick and easy. In fact, everything is organized by category so it’s possible to search for a product and compare prices at different stores. As well, checking flyers before you go to the store will help you save time because you’ll already know exactly what you’re looking for. Making a list is also a timesaver because once you’re there, you won’t have to try and visualize what’s missing in your fridge because you’ll have your handy dandy list!

5 useful apps

We’ve tested five grocery management apps: two list-making and three flyer apps. Our criteria include:

Lists

These apps help keep your lists, including your grocery list. Simple to use, they allow you to stay organized when you shop.

Wunderlist

You can download Wunderlist onto your cell (Play Store and App Store), tablet and computer for free and sync your devices to access your lists from all platforms. You can also connect to the app through your Facebook, Windows and Google accounts or create a Wunderlist account when you start using it. You can share your list and chat directly using the app which is practical when getting to know your family’s needs.

Organizy

This application is available for free on Playstore, but costs 99¢ on the App store. It’s easy to add lists and create as many as you want! Once you’ve added a product, you can also enter the price and quantity needed and it automatically calculates the total grocery bill. You can share lists by email, but you’ll need an Internet connection to do so.

Organizy is easier to use than Wunderlist, but it’s less flexible. It’s perfect if you just want to keep a grocery list and update it, but if you’re looking for an app with more functionality (ie chat, invites to make changes to the list, etc.), Wunderlist is better.

Flyers

These apps allow you to consult your favourite grocery store flyers, as well as notify you of in-store rebates.

Reebee 

This app uses your postal code to find stores near you so you can access the grocery store flyers nearest you. Searching for a product is quick and easy. Just enter a product in the search bar to find the cheapest. To add an item to your list, you can either enter it directly or select it from the flyer. The latter is practical and fast. Reebee is available free on all platforms, Android as Apple. You just need an Internet connection to use it, but once you’ve consulted a flyer, you can access the app without a connection!

Flipp

Like Reebee, Flipp uses your postal code to find stores near you. You can find flyers by choosing the desired category from the left menu or by typing the name of the store or product in the search bar. Clicking a product will give you all the weekly sales. The same is true when you add a product to your grocery list (also from the left menu). Flipp is free for Android and Apple.

Flyerify

Free for Android and Apple users, Flyerify has flyers for grocery and other kinds of stores. The app is available only in English. As for the flyers themselves, they’re available in both English and French. They’re sorted alphabetically, so it’s easier to search what you want from the search bar than to go through the whole list. After, you can add the flyers of the grocery stores you go to regularly to your “favourites”. You can also share the pages you’ve looked at through email.

General appreciation

Now, do you use mobile apps to help you manage your groceries? If yes, let us know by leaving a comment!