Coupon clipping can be a thing of the past

Nancy Pannunzio is photographed checking the Reebee app on her tablet in her home on October 7 Photo By Michelle Laramie

 

With the variation in grocery store prices, price matching apps are keeping shoppers from driving store to store to save money.

According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian household spends around $240 per person a month on food.

For a young student like Mathew Deschenes that’s a lot of money.  Deschenes is living on campus in the St Clair College residence.  He depends on a grocery bus that picks students up each Tuesday and takes them to the Superstore on Dougall Ave.

Although students receive a 10 per cent discount at the Superstore Deschenes says groceries are still too expensive.

“I usually try to buy on sale.  I plan out meals that can stretch a few days,” said Deschenes. “But I don’t always buy my food, my mother helps every few weeks.”

Deschenes says he doesn’t feel price matching is worth the hassle of searching through flyers, but is not against looking into getting a grocery app to save time and money.

Grocery apps such as Reebee or Flipp can be easily downloaded onto a cellphone or tablet and contain most of the local flyers for grocery stores in the area.  Individuals enter their postal code and any flyers for the surrounding area come up on the device. Customers can then show the flyer at the check out and get the best price for your items.

Nancy Pannunzio  uses Reebee when shopping.

“All I have to do is type in what I am purchasing, pick the store with the best price and show the cashier,” said Pannunzio. “She fixes the price and I save money.  It can’t get any easier than that.”

Pannunzio says she only works part time and takes care of an ill husband so she does not have time to go from store to store chasing prices to afford groceries.  She said the app keeps her right on budget.

“You have to do what you have to do, especially with my time out of the house being so limited,” said Pannunsio. “This app has saved me so much time and money. And it is so simple.”

Deschenes and Pannunzio both agree it is very important to stock up on sale items.

“I make sure to watch for really good sales and stock up on essential things,” said Pannunzio

“I have the benefit of a freezer at my parent’s so if chicken goes on sale we would buy a few packs and divide them up to take to school as needed,” said Deschenes.

Driving from store to store to catch the best sales seems a thing of the past.  Just download a simple app and you can bring one small handheld device to get the cheapest price.