Smart phones, shopping apps and you

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - If you're already a smart shopper and you have a smart phone, you can become an even smarter shopper using cell phone apps.

Depending on what you're buying.

24 Hour News 8 used some smart phone shopping apps on more than 30 items around the area. They can save you money, but you'll need a good smart phone. For this test, Verizon loaned its new Motorola Droid, using Verizon's top of the line service.

The "shop savvy" app is one of a half-dozen that will let you compare prices on the spot. The app turns your phone into a bar code scanner, and within seconds will show you if and where you can find that item cheaper. You can also set up the program to alert you when an item goes on sale.

"This could change the shopping experience," said Verizon's Mike Weiden. "It already has for a lot of people."

Some phones aren't so smart, though. For those, 24 Hour News 8 used a price service - milo.com - that your phone can access using the Internet. But instead of scanning the item, you punch in the SKU number.

At Best Buy, with identifiable brand name items, Shop Savvy worked amazingly well. The app said a vacuum cleaner was $18 less at Sears, a bottle of Tide $3 leass at Walgreens, and a Cuisinart blender was priced the best at Best Buy.

We tried it on a family shopping for DVDs at Best Buy. Heather Haag was going to spend $59.99 for a DVD set. Using the shopping apps, we located a used set $10 cheaper on the web, and $4 less new at another store. Best Buy matched the new price on the spot.

"So we ended up saving $4," Haag said. "It was worth it. Thanks.

But when the price difference on an item was so great -- such as on a Wii game we priced -- the Shop Savvy app was quoting a price for a part of the game.

You may not need a shopping app to get a lower price, though. Best Buy looks at the competition and will match their price.

For Shop Savvy to work correctly, you have to scan the actual bar code. It's often difficult to do that on big items like refrigerators.

With milo.com , though, we had no luck at all.

We found out later that milo.com does not index products by SKU, but mostly by product name. Typing in the product's name provides more results. Officials with milo.com told 24 Hour News 8 they hope to add SKUs in the future.

One more thing: if you're searching online and getting something shipped, the cost of shipping generally eats up any item savings.

Beyond the electronic retailers, the pricing apps had limited value. Most price searches confirmed the price was the lowest in the area, suggesting that retailers closely watch their competition. In other cases, the apps couldn't find the product's UPC, which may mean that retailer has an exclusive size or variation that makes price comparison impossible.

"These are really more for big ticket items," Verizon's Weiden said. "Not sure how many people would drive across the street to save a couple pennies on a gallon of milk, and the search data boxes may not have all the items. But they're adding stuff all the time."