By Chris Schulz
Investigative Journalist | Kaipūrongo Whakatewhatewha
Grocer.nz, Grosave and Price Pulse promise to help supermarket shoppers save money. Do they?
One of the biggest issues facing supermarket shoppers in 2025 is the lack of data, says Mark Priscott. He believes more data would help consumers take advantage of the myriad of specials to be found along supermarket aisles.
That’s why Mark has launched a new online tool designed to give consumers the data they need to make canny choices at the supermarket. “One genuine way you can save money at the supermarket is by changing your habits,” says Mark, “either by switching retailers or splitting your basket of goods between multiple retailers to take advantage of different promotions.”
Grocery comparison tools aim to do just that: helping supermarket shoppers save money at the tills. These tools are a fast-growing market. Grocer NZ has already been running for several years, while Grosave launched in April, with both apps allowing users to compare prices while they’re out and about.
Now Mark has added the online-only Price Pulse to the mix, offering detailed information about every product users place in their basket, including a 6-month price history and comparisons with nearby supermarkets.
There are pros and cons to each of these tools, and how you shop will determine which is right for you. We’ve taken a closer look to help understand what each offers.
How do they compare?
Grocer.nz
Website: www.grocer.nz
App: Yes
Cost to user: Free, but a $6/month subscription extends the options to include multiple shopping lists, 30 supermarket comparisons and unlimited price history.
Upsides: Prices regularly updated; every major New Zealand supermarket listed, including Fresh Choice and Super Value; easy-to-use interface.
Downsides: Limits of just six supermarket comparisons and one shopping list with the free option; also limits price comparison history to 3 months.
Best for: A quick price comparison in the aisles to check for the best price.
Butter is why I came to Grocer.nz. Speak to anyone these days, and sooner or later the conversation will turn to the price of butter, which just keeps going up – to $18.29 for a 500-g tub of Mainland semisoft butter in one case. With two hungry teenagers to feed, our household churns through a lot of butter, so where is it the cheapest?
According to Grocer.nz, a 500g block of Anchor’s yellow gold is cheapest at Woolworths on the week I am using the app. There, I’ll pay $9.90 when using my Everyday Rewards card. It’s $10.49 at the Mt Albert Pak’nSave or $10.99 at the Mt Roskill New World.
Roc Wong built the initial Grocer.nz app in 2021, then rebuilt it in 2022. Roc is a father- of two with a full-time day job. He has regularly turned down offers to sell his app and continues to work on improving it in his spare time. He told me it now has roughly 75,000 monthly active users, about 16,000 registered users, and 180 paid users, all wanting to find cheaper supermarket deals.
The paid “Pro” subscription offers users the ability to build multiple shopping lists (compared with just one on the free tier) and compare prices across 30 supermarkets (six on the free tier) and for as long as the app has been running (limited to 3 months on the free tier).
I find using Grocer.nz best at the beginning of the week, when supermarkets lock in their weekly specials. If you log on then, you can compare it to your shopping list, work out where you need to go to get the best prices and plan your weekly trips accordingly. We need butter this week, so I’ll definitely be heading to Woolworths for that.
Grosave
Website: www.grosave.co.nz
App: Yes
Cost to user: Free
Upsides: Easy-to-navigate layout; in-built map helps narrow supermarket selections; notifications for price drops on chosen items; percentages help show how much a product has been discounted.
Downsides: Comes with a 33-page tutorial; lags in search times occurred during the trial period.
Best for: A wide-ranging sweep of nearby supermarkets when you’re planning your weekly shop.
If you’re thinking about installing Grosave on your phone, you’ll need some time to do it properly. That’s because there’s an app to download, an account to set up, and a 33-page tutorial to wade through. Then you’ll need to input your favourite supermarkets and populate your shopping lists.
Thankfully, once you’ve done all that, you’ll be ready to make some savings. Grosave offers a touch more more razzle dazzle than Grocer.nz, with nifty buttons, a friendly green colour scheme and an array of nice images of the grocery items being compared.
Developers Murray Wong, Tim Hong and Jayon Thomas started the self-funded service in April this year.
During Consumer NZ’s trial, we found the set-up process time-consuming but, once our favourite supermarkets were chosen and grocery lists were populated, Grosave was an intuitive and helpful tool. It does everything Grocer.nz does, with a nifty ‘alerts’ function that tells you when the price has dropped on your favourite items.
Price Pulse
Website: https://my.pricepulse.co.nz
App: No
Cost to user: Free
Upsides: Comprehensive analysis of price history; website overlay is well designed; easy-to-populate baskets at different stores
Downsides: No app; it’s still in its infancy with bugs being ironed out; of little use to those who prefer to shop in-store; only supports the three main supermarkets
Best for: Those who do their grocery shopping online.
Launching any day now, Price Pulse offers online shoppers instant comparisons of this week’s prices and historical comparisons for nearby supermarkets. After downloading and installing Price Pulse, you select your favourite supermarkets. Then, when shopping online at Woolworths, Pak’nSave or New World, a broccoli icon will sit on the left-hand side of your screen. This is your link to all the tool’s data.
As you load your basket, you can compare pricing across your selected supermarkets to weigh up whether you should stick with your chosen supermarket, move your entire basket to a different supermarket or split your shopping between two. If you want to shift, there’s a handy function that will transfer some or all of your basket for you.
The first time I used Price Pulse, I set up my typical weekly grocery shop at the Albany Pak’nSave for pickup that Thursday. Price Pulse told me that I was already shopping at the cheapest supermarket for most of the groceries I wanted. But it also informed me, via a handy red-green traffic light system, that I could save $1.50 by buying my Waitoa chicken nuggets at New World, while Woolworths was offering a better deal on premium Colby cheese.
I took those items out of my basket. They can wait until I can get my hands on those sweet discounts.
Back our fight for honest grocery prices
With your support, we can build a safer, fairer and more equitable future for New Zealanders. Join today to help us hold supermarkets to account.
