Groceries have become expensive. Therefore, many people are currently looking more closely at prices when shopping and are on the lookout for offers. Help is promised by savings apps that compare the prices of different shops and tell you what you can get where for the cheapest price. But how much can you really save?
Stiftung Warentest has tested eight price comparison apps for groceries – each in the version for iOS and for Android. Overall, the product testers were not very satisfied with the results. So the price comparison was often cumbersome, sometimes you have to click through numerous digital brochures to find offers. In addition, the apps did not know all the actual offers, while many of the offers displayed could not be found in the store after all. So the savings were limited.
For the practical test, the product testers put together a typical shopping basket for a family and one for singles. Then they compared the prices in five stores with what the apps offered. With the offers of the app Marktguru, the test buyers were able to save the most – almost twelve percent. With the apps Kauf-Da, Weekli and YouPickIt it was almost ten percent, with the others even less.
To do this, users had to go to three stores on average, and even four at Marktguru. And because the apps don’t know all the offers, the savings are still lower than if you compare the prices yourself in the store. Both singles and families could have saved around 20 percent when comparing prices between the most expensive and cheapest retailers on site, reports Warentest.
The bottom line is that all savings apps – whether for iOS or Android – receive the quality ratings “satisfactory” or “sufficient”. Warentest does not even want to proclaim a test winner with these results. Conclusion of the product testers: “All apps are time-consuming. They are only worthwhile if you really want to save every cent or are waiting for special offers.”
The complete test can be read for a fee at www.test.de
