u/GrocerlistApp

Mods - happy to remove this post if it doesn’t fit. Posting here because a similar post did well in r/UVU and folks suggested I share here too.

Hi neighbors!

I’m a software engineering student at UVU, and I built a grocery price comparison app called Grocerlist that started as a school project a couple semesters ago.

The reason I built it: I kept watching my own family and friends get hit hard by rising grocery prices, and paying way more than they had to because there’s no easy way to know which store has the best prices for your specific list. The idea I had was pretty simple — what if we all banded together as a community and shared prices with each other, so nobody has to overpay just because they didn’t know a better deal existed a mile away?

How it works: you build your grocery list in the app, and it shows you what your total cart would cost at every nearby store. Prices come from real Utah Valley shoppers scanning items when they’re already at the store. You also earn points for scanning, which turn into real gift cards (Target, Amazon, Walmart, Apple, and a bunch of others). Free, no subscriptions, no email spam.

Here’s where I actually need help: the app only works when enough locals are using it. I’ve been doing most of the scanning myself around Orem and Provo, and the price data is thin outside of a few stores. I need real Utah Valley shoppers to try it, tell me what’s broken, what’s confusing, and what you’d actually want it to do.

I rather find out what’s not working from 30 honest neighbors now than launch it wider and find out from 3,000 strangers later.

If you’re up for trying it, I’d genuinely appreciate the help. Comment here — good, bad, or brutal feedback all welcome. No pressure at all if it’s not for you.

Links in comments so this doesn’t get flagged.

— Juan

One of the most consistent pieces of feedback I got was some version of “cool, but I don’t want to open the app every week just to check if prices dropped.” Fair. So I built a Watchlist.

How it works: you add items you buy regularly (milk, eggs, whatever) to your Watchlist, and the app pushes you a notification when the price drops by 10% or $0.50 at a store near you. You don’t have to check anything, the app just tells you when it’s worth switching stores that week.

Still testing it, still probably has bugs, still need people to break it and tell me what’s confusing. If you were one of the folks who downloaded it last time, I’d love to know if this actually helps or if it’s just noise. And if you haven’t tried it yet, no pressure, but this update might make it more useful for how most people actually shop.

Also happy to answer questions if anyone’s curious how it works technically, or has ideas for features that would actually be useful.

Links in comments so this doesn’t get auto-flagged.

Thanks again,
Juan (senior, CS)

Hey folks,

I'm a software engineering student building a grocery price comparison app called Grocerlist, and I wanted to share what I'm working on with a community that actually pays attention to grocery pricing. Not asking anyone to download anything, genuinely just want feedback and thoughts.

The problem I'm trying to solve: prices for the same items can vary by $2-4+ between grocery stores in the same neighborhood, and there's no easy way to know which store is cheapest for your specific list without checking five different store apps or driving around. So I built one that does it for you.

How it works:

• You build your grocery list in the app
• It shows you what your total cart would cost at every nearby store
• Prices come from real shoppers scanning items when they're at the store (community-powered, not scraped)
• Users earn points for scanning, redeemable for gift cards (Target, Amazon, Walmart, and others)

Full transparency on where I am: I'm currently testing this in Utah County (Provo/Orem area) because I needed a beachhead market small enough that I could realistically get to critical mass with the community-powered pricing model. The app technically works anywhere in the US, but outside of my current test market, there's not enough contributed price data yet to make it useful. I don't want to oversell it and burn people who'd download expecting a fully populated database.

What I'm hoping to get from this post:

1. Honest feedback from people who care about grocery pricing, does this seem useful? Where would you expect it to fall apart? What did you already tried that failed?
2. If you'd want this in your city eventually, drop your city in the comments. I'm building a rough map of where organic demand exists, which will directly inform what market I try to expand to next.
3. If any of you are in Utah County, I'd love your help testing it right now.

Genuinely open to skepticism, criticism, "this will never work because X," or "have you thought about Y." The whole reason I'm posting here instead of a founder subreddit is because you all know grocery stores better than I do.

Mods, let me know if this doesn't fit the sub and I'll take it down without argument.

— Juan

Hey fellow Wolverines,

I'm a software engineering student here and figured this might be the right sub to ask for help.

A couple semesters back I built a grocery price comparison app called Grocerlist as a class project. Idea was pretty simple, I kept realizing I was paying way more for the same groceries because I only shopped at whatever store was closest to my apartment, when there were cheaper options a couple miles away. I didn't have time to check five store apps every week, so I built one that does it for me.

Basic version: you build your grocery list in the app, and it shows you your total cart cost at every nearby store. Prices come from real users who scan items when they're at the store, you also earn points for scanning, which turn into gift cards (Target, Amazon, Walmart, and some others). Completely free.

The project ended up growing into an actual business I've been working on outside of class, but here's the honest problem: it only really works when enough locals are using it and scanning prices. Right now the price data around Orem is decent but thin, I've been doing most of the scanning myself.

I'd love a handful of UVU students to try it out and tell me what breaks, what's confusing, what you'd want it to do differently. Students are some of the most budget-conscious grocery shoppers on the planet, so if it doesn't work for you, it probably doesn't work for anyone.

No pressure at all if it's not your thing. But if any of you want to test it and tell me it's garbage, I'd rather hear that now than after another year of building on the wrong stuff.

Mods, if this crosses the line let me know and I'll take it down.

Links in comments so this doesn't get auto-flagged.

Cheers,
Juan (senior, CS)