(WXYZ) — From bacon to beef, we've been talking about rising grocery prices for weeks now, but many companies are promoting apps to help you out.
Can they really save you cash? Our Alicia Smith went to an expert to find out the top three.
Tobie Stanger, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, said the company has not done a complete analysis of grocery store apps yet, but she looked at several that can help you save in different ways.
First, Flipp, which touts itself as "your one-stop marketplace for savings and deals." The app has circulars right inside of it.
“You can just look at them in miniature or you can actually click on the store and just see what specials and what coupons they have," Stanger said.
Next up is Basket, which will look up items in-store and online and show price comparison.
“Let’s say I have a list of five items. It will say, 'okay you can get the best deal at this particular store on two of the items, but you’re going to get a better deal for three of the items at another store,'" Stanger said.
One downside, you may have to shop at more than one store to get the lowest price for every item on your list. The upside, she said, is that Basket includes a wide variety of retailers, including Costco and Trader Joe's.
Then, there's Ibota, which gives "real cash back when you shop for groceries."
Stanger said you scan the receipt and that gives you the discount. The money goes into an ibotta account, and once you have at least $20 in savings, you can download it to a bank account or gift card.
Stanger said if you have a loyalty card connected to Ibotta, you get the savings instantly.
But, she said one reviewer found the amount of cash you get back starts to drop over time.
Stanger said Ibotta has the most to offer, in her professional opinion.
Another reason she liked it is because it can be used for other items like clothing, essentials and more.
But, she wants you to remember to be careful about privacy settings. Whenever possible, you want to reduce how much of your information is being shared by these apps with other companies or other apps.
