Shopper

One of the best shopping list apps I've seen/used. You can add prices, whether or not you have a coupon, sales tax, quantity, and notes about a product. Once you put an item in the cart at the store, check it off and it goes to the shopping cart within the app. At the end of your shopping trip, you can "check out" and it deletes all the items from your trip and you are ready to start over again. This app has so many more features than what I described. It's a keeper.

5/13
$0.99

essential shopping list
Miss sync with Mac/PC.

skeptical about this, it wont sync anyway

I thought this was a GREAT app...But now I am really upset, downright PO'D. I have put many, many hours into this app. I've put in hundreds of items, custom lists for different stores. Many hours of typing and fine-tuning all the items I need.

With this latest update I lost it ALL. EVERY SINGLE ITEM I put in is gone. I've done all the updates previous to this one and never lost anything!

I am so pissed-All the hours I spent with this app are now completely useless and for nothing. All that work, wasted. If there is some way I can get my lists back, then please, tell me.

If I can't, I want a refund.

Seriously, what's the deal with the ads in my paid app? Can we get refunds? I just wanted a decent shopping list, not electronic junk mail.

EVERYONE SHOULD AVOID THIS APP or this will be the new business model... Sell an App, then later Add ads to a Paid App and then offer "opt-out subscription"... WHAT A RIP, a real Bait & Switch scam. AVOID APP and COMPLAIN TO APPLE. I will be looking for a NEW shopping app to use. Rating: -5 stars!

Great shopper app. Adding items is fast, and efficient even for items not in the list. Start typing, and choose it from autocompleting list, or finish typing and just add the item you just typed. No double entry for adding items not in the database. New items once added are quick to categorize.

Categorizing is one of the great things about the app. Once in group view, you don't forget items that are in the same area of the store. No backtracking!!!!

Only two items that could use improvement. One, allow clearing of the list before everything is checked (and it only clears items that are checked, leaving items that are uncheck still on the list). Two, I'd love to be able to have different sets of shopping lists. (wishlist, Home Depot list, clothes list in addition to the food list that's there now). Need to be able to back out of the current list like the new 2.0 calendar app and select different lists.

Great app as is though!

Used to be one of the best grocery list apps around, but now they are just trying to do too much. The slow loading was almost an acceptable trade off for sharing with other users, but now the brand advertising, FDA alerts, and tips being displayed in my list are just too much. It is more of a hassle to use this now than when I was using scratch paper. If the costs of continuing development are too high, then stop developing it. Leave it as it was when it was a 5 star app and people will continue to buy it. I will try Grocery IQ now or just go back to the basic, free FastShop.

Dec 10, 2009: This app is quickly going downhill. The store flyer integration in version 5 was poorly executed such that i'm getting ads for milk chocolate with the Milk that i need to buy. This is a huge issue, esp when i'm back to eating responsible in January. But beyond that, the flyers just aren't useful. Now that they're telling me to buy carnation milk in addition to milk chocolate, i've had enough. The ads are a big problem, and a subscription based opt-out model is certainly not going to help. I'm sorry the app isn't sustainable at the current price, but i paid FULL PRICE for this app, and thus expected to NOT EVER see ads in it. I'm sorely disappointed. And it's a sad trend in the app store in general that people are essentially wasting money on apps that wil become obsolete because of greedy developers or poorly thought out business models. I'll be deleting this app posthaste. It's become very cluttered, and is not worth the $5 i paid for it. I hope the company can see the folly of it's ways, and attempt to remedy the situation.

UPDATES: I love the features that are being added. Definitely a happy customer. Can't wait to see more.

A very clean, simple UI. Nice distinction between categories and products within categories. I like that it allows you to distinguish between different types of a certain thing, chicken for example. It is also VERY customizable, and allows me to rearrange existing categories in anyway i see fit. I like that i can add pictures to my items, or even to categories, though I'm too lazy to source all those pics.

A great feature is the notification of how many items are on you list shown at the top right of the Shopper icon on its home screen. This is very useful, especially for a forgetful person like me. Great idea guys.

I'm pleased with what's been done thus far, though i do have a few requests/suggestions for future versions.

1) I'd like to have an option to create different lists. Somethings are immediate, others i may need when i go to a certain store, or for a specific project. This would be a great feature.

2) It would be nice to have a built in way to add amounts of stuff, without me having to type it in all the time. Just to make things a little bit quicker.

3) Even though i can add anything i want to the database, i don't want to have to do that. I'd love it if more basic items were added for us.

4) I'd love if there were a repository of pictures that i could spruce up some of the categories with.

Thanks for a great starting product, it makes me look forward to updates even more. At $5, i found this to be a worthy purchase.

Paid full price a year ago... Now with recent updates seeing advertisements. Not acceptable for a paid app. Looking for a new app for my grocery lists... Deleting Shopper App... Would have rated ZERO STARS, forced by system to give one...

I have both Grocery IQ and Shopper as in my extensive search and comparison between shopping apps and these are the two best. Each has it's Pros and Cons. Depending on what's important to you as a shopper and your needs one can be chosen over the other if you know the major differences.
Here's the breakdown.

1. Shoppers search function is much faster with an intuitive "search as you type" function.

2. IQ's barcode search is really snazzy and makes adding specific items or items that do not come up in a text search fast and easy.

3. IQ has an monstrous list of items specific to name brand, size, weight, packaging etc. where Shopper only has general categories. For example, you can find "Oreo Double Stuff" on IQ but only "cookies" on Shopper. if you want "Oreo Double Stuff" specifically with Shopper, you have to either edit "cookies" or manually add it.

4. Flipping between stores is much easier on Shopper as they are all listed at the top of the shopping list in a horizontal line (eg., Publix Target Wal-mart Safeway). All you have to do it tap on the store or if you have lots of stores just slide the bar left or right via it's quick scrolling function. IQ has a drop down list at the top of the app, that still makes it very quick to switch between the two. This feature is really a minor thing.

There are two major things in Shopper that keep it at the top of my list and the app I use for now being I'm more budget minded and shop as several stores.

1. I live in Florida where we have no tax on food, only non perishable goods. Shopper allows me to configure my state tax rate and flip a slider for each item to calculate tax or not. This is extremely helpful calculating an accurate cart total. I can have "calculate tax" turned on for paper towels but not for milk. By not being able to calculate tax in IQ I can easily spend $10-$20 more than what's been calculated if it's a big shopping day and I have more food than not.

2. Shopper lets me put in the price of an item for each store and not just a single price set as a default as in IQ. I can set the price for milk to $2.50 at Wal-mart and $2.75 at Target. When I'm out shopping I can quickly see what the price is at each store and determine what I want to buy where. So if Target has milk on sale for $2.60 I can flip to Wal-mart with via a sliding store list at the top of my list and see it's $2.50 normally there thus still the better deal. In IQ I can only set one price. So if I set the price for Target at $2.75 and go shopping at Wal-Mart, milk does not show up on my list or I have to change the price for my shopping cart.

NOTE: Shopper has a "location" function that automatically changes your store via your GPS location. If I move from Target to Wal-mart the app is "supposed" to change my store location. However this function has never worked for me. No biggie all 4 of my major stores are within 300 yards of each other and the slider function makes it fast and easy to switch between stores manually.

BOTTOM LINE:

Neither IQ or Shopper is better than the other. Each has excellent features specific to the app and each is lacking where the other strong. Which app is right for you:
Depends on your needs and shopping style.

1. Do you shop at one store? = IQ
2. Do you buy very specific items by name and brand = IQ
3. Is tax calculation important? = Shopper
4. Do you like to price compare between stores? = Shopper

TIP: I use another app called "iShopper" which once you put in your location and commonly shopped stores, iShopper provides you with the weekly store circular. I check this first to see what each of my stores has on sale then make or update my list accordingly.

The one thing truly missing in any app on the store, other than in an app called "Pantry", is the ability to keep track of what you have in stock already and the quantity. The problem with Pantry is it's cumbersome and time consuming to use. Plus the app itself is very unstable. The first grocery app to incorporate my grocery list with my pantry is the one that will win a permanent place on my iPhone.

It's frustrating when I go to buy a can beans only to find I had a can hidden away in the back of my pantry.
Happy Shopping.

Tara
Tampa, FL

When you pay for an app you expect it to at least have the same functionality for as long as you have it. Instead we're forced to accept upgrades that compromise the usefulness of the product. I will not be purchasing any other products from these folks. I have over a hundred apps and this is the first time I've felt the need to review one. 'nuff said.

Ads in a paid app? You should be ashamed of yourselves. It's a pity, because the app has a lot of potential. Unless the developers stop alienating their users by shoving advertising down our throats in an app we paid for, I can't recommend this app at all. The idea of asking us to sign up for a subscription to get rid of the ads is unacceptable. If you need to charge $10 for your app, so be it, but trying to bait-and-switch your users with a $1 app that's going to cost more in the future is shameful.

Look elsewhere for your shopping list needs. The only reason to spend a dollar for this app is to give it a one-star rating.

I've been using this app for a couple of months and it did what I wanted it to do. Not stellar, but three stars material. The latest version, however, was "improved" with ads. This app is and wasn't free, so unless they fix this ASAP I suggest you look elsewhere.

Ah, so your idea of opting out of ads is paying $2 yearly for continued development of features I don't want? Not quite what I thought you had in mind. Well, looks like the only thing I can do is to discontinue using Shopper so you have fewer people to whom to show ads. Good-bye. For others who feel like me, there are other shopping list products out there, some charging $5 and some $1 (but ad-supported). I would gladly pay $5 for a version with no ads, but *not* yearly. Also, the other ad-supported app is quite honest about the ads. And at least you have some control over which ads you see by "clipping" coupons. If you offer a $4.99 ad-free version of Shopper, I may come back. Of course, it will have to be better than the other $5 app. So far, massive customer satisfaction failure.

UPDATE: This is an update to my original review - I just downloading the most recent update to this application for version 7. Even though this app costs $0.99 - although I paid more than that as I've used this app since it first came out when it was priced higher - THEY HAVE NOW INTRODUCED ANNOYING ADVERTISING - so you pay $0.99 for the app - then you need to pay another $1.99 to get rid of the advertising - what a joke!!! I have to see some silly ad about Pantene Shampoo - as if that is going to make me buy their product - BAD BUSINESS DECISION TO INTRODUCE ADVERTING IN AN APP THAT ALREADY COSTS MONEY. I really enjoy this app - it's pretty straight-forward to use. The notes feature allows me to type in the price paid, to remind me what at paid at one store vs. another. It's easy to add new items to your list, or manually add an item you purchase regularly but isnt in the delivered listing of food items. I hightly recommend this item - looking forward to the updates in version 1.1

I paid for this app. REMOVE THE ADS!

After you buy the app a note comes up saying you can opt-out of ads for a fee. Uh... I just bought your product and now you want to charge me to keep ads off my screen. No double-dipping here, hoss. In the garbage you go.