Shop Savvy

Never overpay for a product again! ShopSavvy makes it easy to price match nearly anything. Use the app to scan the barcode of any product you’re considering purchasing, and ShopSavvy will let you know if the product is available at a lower price at another local retailer, or even online. If the product is cheaper somewhere else, you can buy it there, or with so many brick and mortar retailers price matching these days, you can probably save a good chunk of change right there in the store. ShopSavvy also allows you to track deals, receive sales alerts, check product reviews, and more. Don’t waste your money! Shop savvy!

First, I want to mention the practicality of having a barcode scanner on your iDevice. I’m sure you’ve noticed the QR codes we place at the bottom of our reviews, and the reason we do so is it allows you to quickly access an app we’re reviewing without having to search for it in the App Store or download it on your computer. Barcode scanners are also helpful with comparison shopping, creating grocery lists, remembering products to buy, and a whole slew of other things.

ShopSavvy (Barcode Scanner and QR Code Reader), developed by ShopSavvy, Inc, is definitely an App Store veteran. Combining an intuitive interface with a database of products that can’t be beat, ShopSavvy is a must for anyone who uses their iPhone, iPod Touch, and/or iPad for shopping.

Concept and Functionality:

I’m going to admit that I’ve been a huge fan of ShopSavvy since it first came out. It was one of the first barcode scanning apps I ever downloaded on my prehistoric iPhone 3G. Even with the mediocre camera on my first iPhone, ShopSavvy was able to outperform similar apps. In the years since, ShopSavvy definitely hasn’t lost its touch.

ShopSavvy does all of the things mentioned above and more, and it’s extremely simple to use. When you open the app, you have the option to create an account so you can easily keep track of your activity and store payment information. You don’t need an account to use the app, however, which is great news for users who aren’t keen on the idea.

To scan a barcode, simply press the “Scan” button on the bottom of the screen and focus your camera on the code. Depending on what you’re scanning (website or product), ShopSavvy will either take you directly to the website or show you a detailed product information screen. From here, you can read product reviews, add the scanned product to a list, compare prices both online and locally, and even purchase the product directly in the app.

To help you keep track of items you’ve scanned with ShopSavvy, there’s a useful “History” page. However, it only works with products that you scan, not websites or app QR codes (like you see here). While this isn’t too big of a deal, I still think it’d be handy to allow both products and sites to be stored in this section.

Features:

ShopSavvy is packed with features which make it the Swiss Army knife of mobile shopping. If you’re looking for a product locally, the app provides directions to the store of your choice and even tells you if the product is in stock.

ShopSavvy also features a long list of deals and special offers available at many popular retail stores. This includes coupon codes, shipping discounts, and sales on products. While the list of deals and offers isn’t as comprehensive as other services, it’s still valuable and worth browsing.

As far as barcode compatibility, ShopSavvy can scan UPC, EAN, and QR codes. In layman’s terms, this means that basically every barcode you encounter can be scanned with the app. As I mentioned before, you can even purchase items within ShopSavvy using the Wallet feature.

Lastly, you can search for products by keyword if a barcode isn’t available. Unfortunately this is the only feature that I’m not a huge fan of, mainly because results tend to be very scattered and there can be multiple versions of the same product. It would be great if users could choose specific stores to search, which I believe would help to reduce query clutte.

Value:

I can’t say enough great things about ShopSavvy. Not only will it save you money while shopping, but you can’t beat the price of a free app. Whether you’re an online shopping whiz, looking for an easy way to keep track of products, or yearning to put those QR codes at the bottom or our reviews to use, ShopSavvy is definitely the way to go.