Grocery app will change the way you shop

Consider some of the statistics…

• Groceries are the third largest consumer expense, with consumers spending $400 billion on them in 2011 alone.
• Shoppers are increasingly relying on mobile options to get the best deals on their goods, with 52% of U.S. consumers using technology as a part of their everyday grocery shopping experience.
• A recent report from global management and strategy consulting firm Booz & Company found that 57% of U.S. shoppers say they are less loyal to one retailer today, and are more likely to shop around to find the best value.

Finding the best value through technology helps consumers save both money and time

– two valuable assets that tend to be in short supply these days. With that in mind, Savings.com is happy to announce the launch of Favado – a free grocery-shopping app featuring real-time sales data from over 65,000 grocery stores and drugstores nationwide.

To use the app, consumers simply input their zip code for access to deals at stores in their area. (You can request a store that’s missing, as well.) Users can make lists and set up alerts for when certain in-demand items go on sale, as well as create a list of favorites by either brand or item that will automatically search for deals at your local stores when the app is loaded.

Deals loaded onto Favado are hand selected by a group of experts by combining coupons and offers with published sale prices and secret sales, which helps to provide the most savings possible. In fact, in its initial testing phase, users of the app reported saving up to 70% on everyday items.

The easy interface makes using the app a snap, and with features like price comparisons between local stores, personalized deal preferences and shopping lists with available coupons and sharing options, saving money with Favado is as simple as opening up the app before you head out to shop. To use it, all you have to do is add the items you’re looking for to your shopping list. Printable coupon offers that are combined with sales can then be emailed and printed at home. Coupons listed within the app using the abbreviations GM (General Mills,) SS (SmartSource,) RP (Red Plum,) or PG (Procter & Gamble) can be found in corresponding inserts in the Sunday newspaper.

At this time it’s not possible to redeem coupons by simply showing your phone to a cashier at the store, but that’s a feature that’s currently being worked on to implement within the app.

You can spread the saving love with Favado, too. The app makes it easy to share your shopping list with friends via email to compare deals and help you save even more. Look for Favado in the app store starting October 15, 2013.

Cheryl Lock writes about personal finance at Savings.com. When she’s not writing, she enjoys travel, which she blogs about at wearywanderer.wordpress.com.