Trying out the Grocery IQ Smartphone App

I am a list maker.  I make lists all the time: at work, at home, on paper and on my computer.  One of my favorite lists to make is my weekly grocery list, which I outlined in too much detail in an earlier post.

As you may know, I upgraded to an Android smartphone in August.  Recently, Cynthia made me aware of a grocery shopping list app, Grocery IQ, a free grocery list app powered by Coupons.com.  So, I tried it out!  I’ve been using it for the past 6 weeks to create my weekly grocery lists and do my shopping.

Likes:

• Separate Store Lists:  Grocery IQ has the option to create separate lists for different stores.  I can have a list for each of the grocery stores that I shop at, just like I used to on paper, as well as the stores I don’t frequent as often (or even buy groceries at!).
• The “Any Store” Option: In Grocery IQ, I can assign items to the “any store” list so that they appear on all of my lists.  So, if I know I need apples, but don’t know where I’m going to buy them, they can appear on the lists for all my stores.
• Organization by Aisle: Grocery IQ sorts items by aisles, something my paper lists never do which can lead to a lot of running around.  The app lets you organize the aisles for different stores however you want, based on the actual store layout
• Barcode Scanner: I don’t use this tool as much as I should, but you can scan the barcode of items in your pantry in order to quickly add them to your list.  Handy!
• Long term lists:  I like the ability to maintain lists long term for stores I don’t frequent or leave things on lists that I’m just on the look out for because I’m running low.  I used to throw out my paper lists every week, which meant that I’d forget to transfer things I didn’t buy.
• List Making Anywhere: Grocery IQ is pretty much always with me, which means I can quickly add things to my list when I think of them, without tracking down my current list or starting a new one. 
• Sense of Accomplishment: There’s nothing better than the satisfaction of checking things off on the list and then clicking “check out” at the end to clear the list
• The Grocery IQ Website: After several weeks of just using the app I discovered that I could also create my list on the Grocery IQ website and then sync it with my phone.  It’s much easier for me to type on my computer than my phone, so when I do the bulk of my list making, I prefer to use the website.

Dislikes:

• Strange Organization: Sometimes Grocery IQ puts items into weird aisles that don’t make any sense to me.  It’s a pretty easy fix to move something to a different aisle however.
• Too Many Brand Names: For whatever reason, Grocery IQ only has brand names pre-loaded into it for some items.  You can type something that’s not in the system and it will just be added to the “other” aisle, but I don’t understand why “half and half” doesn’t automatically register, but milk does.
• Hidden Notes: On my old lists, I used to note the sales so that I’d know why I’d added the item to my shopping list and what deal I was looking for.  You can add similar notes on Grocery IQ, but in the app you need to click on the item and open it to read it.  It’s just one extra step I wish I didn’t have to take.
• Rethinking Menu Planning:  The change to a digital list required me to rethink how I was going to do my menu planning.  Previously the plan had been written on my paper shopping list.  I’m currently trying Google Docs and Evernote as replacements, but it’s an adjustment.  Either way, I can’t look at my menu and my shopping list at the same moment, which can be frustrating

Overall, I really like Grocery IQ.  It’s been over a month and I keep using it.  I feel much more organized-I never lose my lists, I can update whenever I think of something and it’s easy to use.

Disclaimer:  I downloaded Grocery IQ for free from the Android Marketplace.  The opinions expressed above are my own.