marylsommers: idealo ? consumer app of the week

Thursday, September 22, 2011

idealo ? consumer app of the week

Hunt down the best online price for a particular item with this barcode scanning tool

App: idealo

By: idealo

Price: Free

Available on: iOS/Android

What is it?

A shopping tool that lets you scan the barcode on a product and search for the cheapest place to buy it ? no more will you be subject to the pricing whims of a single retail outlet.

What does it promise?

"Whenever, and wherever you are, it finds the best idealo price on the internet for you". And with a database of more than 1m products across more than 20,000 online shops, perhaps that's no idle boast.

Is it easy to use?

A monkey could master this. Simply scan the product's barcode and off you go. Whether the results you get will be palatable is another question. The app only searches for the best internet price, which is frustrating for shoppers who might want to know if a product they see in, for example, Boots is cheaper in Superdrug. To benefit from any bargains it unearths you'll have to order and pay for them online and await delivery. It automatically saves previous searches, which is handy.

Is it fun?

If you find something you want to buy cheaper, it's great. And it's also satisfying if the price you've already found can't be beaten.

Is it pretty?

Striking use of a lower-case "i" on the logo is a bold start, even if we have seen enough of the sky blue-on-orange design scheme in the world of apps. It has a nifty way with product pictures and offers some neat navigation.

Should you download it?

I searched for a pack of orange flavoured Berocca and idealo found prices ranging from �3.95 at the Amazon Marketplace to �5.08 at OneClickPharmacy. But when I clicked on the �3.95 link I realised that price was before a �1.99 delivery charge was added ? making an actual price of �5.94. When I clicked on the link to OneClickPharmacy, the price was actually �5.09 (rather than �5.08) and with delivery of �2.85 meant the tablets would set me back �7.94. I then walked into the nearest branch of Boots and found Berocca on the shelf at �4.99 a pack. Next, I tried a rival app, RedLaser, which we reviewed last year. It found more recognisable high street names and came back with prices of �4.03 at Lloyds and �4.87 at Asda, as well as the �4.99 Boots price.

To be fair, idealo does state on its results screen that actual prices may be higher, but nevertheless it didn't work particularly well for me. It might be useful in conjunction with RedLaser ? itself a hit and miss app that sometimes fails to find commonplace products or sends you to pages on a store's website that no longer exist.

As far as I'm aware, there's not yet a killer shopping app that searches for online and in-store prices, and at the same time looks for valid discount vouchers ? now that would be an app worth downloading. Tell us if you have found it.

Mark King