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Apps for saving money on food shopping

Relaxnews
Thursday 19 August 2010 00:00 BST
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(Apple)

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An increasing number of retailers are producing apps designed to give customers personalized offers or encourage them to search for particular ingredients. A range of independent iPhone and iPad apps designed to help consumers save money and ensure that they are getting the best deal are also available.

UK-based supermarket chain Sainsbury launched a new app for the iPad and iPhone on August 16: the free app gives customers access to exclusive and personalized offers. The app also allows users to collect points on their Nectar brand of savings cards which can then be used in store.

Other retailers are also using iPhone and iPad apps to target customers: online supermarket Ocado launched free apps for both the iPad and iPhone; French chain Carrefour, which has over 15,000 global outlets, offers a free app called Carrefour Fidélité which rewards customer loyalty and Carrefour Cook which provides recipes and a link to the ingredients on sale in the store; UK retail chain Waitrose also has a free iPhone app which provides users with recipes and allows them to search the store for the required ingredients.

There is also a large market for apps which aid the consumer in making purchase decisions. One such app, apples2oranges (€0.79) allows consumers to compare the size and price of their intended purchases to ensure they are getting the best deal. Best Food substitutions and Recipes for Every Cook (€0.79) suggests cheaper, more commonly available ingredients which can be substituted in place of other more expensive ones. In Season (€1.59) provides a list of fruits and vegetables which are ‘in season' at the time - these are likely to be less expensive than imported 'out of season' goods and have a lower associated carbon footprint.

An extensive range of other grocery shopping apps is available from the itunes store. Searching 'grocery shopping' returned over 100 results for the iPhone and 13 for the iPad.

Sainsbury's (iPhone /iPad) http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sainsburys/id385271078?mt=8

Ocado (iPhone /iPad)   http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ocado/id319691481?mt=8

Waitrose (iPhone/iPad)   http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/waitrose/id380127039?mt=8

Carrefour Fidélité (iPhone /iPad) http://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/carrefour-fidelite/id378305156?mt=8

Carrefour Cook (iPhone /iPad)   http://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/carrefour-cook/id362333634?mt=8

Apples2Oranges (iPhone /iPad) http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id303216139?mt=8

Best Food Substitutions and Recipes for Every Cook (iPhone /iPad) http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/best-food-substitutions-recipes/id356923514?mt=8

In Season (iPhone /iPad) http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/in-season/id300208288?mt=8

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