Are there any apps for finding cheap products and discounts?

In today's world of rising food prices, Calgary residents, like many other Canadians, are actively looking for ways to save money on everyday purchases. With the cost of living expected to rise by 3-5% in 2025, according to the Canada Food Price Report, the issue of economical shopping has become even more relevant. Fortunately, the technological revolution has brought with it a wide range of mobile apps designed specifically to help consumers find the best deals, compare prices, and maximize their savings when shopping for groceries in Calgary.

The ecosystem of apps for budget-conscious shopping in Calgary includes both international platforms and purely Canadian solutions that take into account the specifics of the local market. These apps not only help find discounts, but also help reduce food waste, offer loyalty programs, and provide convenient ways to compare prices between different retail chains. From traditional coupon apps to innovative platforms for combating food waste, Calgary residents have access to a variety of tools that can significantly reduce their grocery expenses.

Flipp: A universal platform for comparing prices and discounts

Flipp is at the forefront of Canadian apps for budget-conscious shopping, offering a comprehensive solution for Calgary residents who want to maximize their savings. This Toronto-based startup has created a digital marketplace that aggregates weekly flyers from over 2,000 retailers across Canada, including all major grocery chains represented in Calgary.

Flipp's main advantage is its powerful price comparison tool. Users can simply enter a product name into the search engine, and the app instantly generates a list of all available discounts on that item at nearby stores. This is especially useful for Calgary residents who have access to a variety of grocery chains, including No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys, and many others. The app allows you to filter results by your favorite stores, making the shopping planning process extremely efficient.

The Watch List feature in Flipp is particularly innovative — users can add items they are interested in to a watch list, and the app will send notifications when those items go on sale. This allows you to plan your shopping around discounts, rather than the other way around. Additionally, Flipp integrates with the loyalty cards of major chains, simplifying the organization of various coupons and discounts.

For Calgary residents, it is particularly important that Flipp supports the price matching strategy practiced by many local chains. The app allows you to save the discounts you find directly to a digital shopping list organized by store, making the price matching process at No Frills or Real Canadian Superstore much easier.

Flashfood: A revolutionary approach to fighting food waste

Flashfood presents an innovative model of economical shopping, partnering with Canada's major grocery chains, including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, and Maxi. This app allows consumers to purchase high-quality products that are nearing their expiration date at discounts of up to 50% off the regular price.

In Calgary, Flashfood works with several Superstore locations and other partner stores. The app is extremely easy to use: users browse available products on a map, each of which has detailed information about the original price, discounted price, and expiration date. After selecting items, the user pays for the purchase through the app and picks up the order in a special Flashfood area of the store, usually located near the checkout.

What makes Flashfood unique is that it is not limited to food items — the app also offers discounts on prepared meals, baked goods, meat, and dairy products. For families in Calgary, this can mean significant savings, especially if they plan their menus around the available discounts. The app also helps reduce food waste, making it an environmentally responsible choice.

FoodHero: A Canadian alternative for combating waste

FoodHero works in a similar way to Flashfood, but with a slightly different approach to presenting discounts. The app partners with chains such as Sobeys, IGA, and Metro, offering discounts of 25% to 60% on products that are nearing their expiration date or are part of excess inventory.

In Calgary, FoodHero is especially useful for those who shop at Sobeys and other affiliated chains. The app allows users to enter their postal code to find the nearest stores with available discounts and filter results by product category. Each product has a detailed description, including the number of units available and the exact expiration date. The advantage of FoodHero is its focus on fresh produce—you can often find significant discounts on fruits, vegetables, and pre-made salads. For families that consume a lot of fresh produce, this can mean significant monthly savings. The app also sends notifications when your order is ready for pickup, making the process convenient.

Too Good To Go: An international platform with local impact

Too Good To Go is the largest international platform for combating food waste, which launched in Alberta in 2020. In its first year in the province, the app saved 100,000 meals from going to landfill and saved Albertans $1.3 million on food. In Calgary, more than 320 local businesses have joined the app.

The Too Good To Go concept is based on “surprise bags” containing surplus food from restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and grocery stores at a price that is about one-third of the retail cost. For Calgary residents, this means access to quality food from local establishments at very attractive prices, starting at $3.99.

The app is especially popular among young professionals and students who appreciate both the economic and environmental benefits of the platform. Each package saved is equivalent to 2.7 kg of CO2 not released into the atmosphere, making every purchase through Too Good To Go a contribution to the fight against climate change.

In Calgary, Too Good To Go works with a wide range of establishments, from high-end restaurants to popular cafes and bakeries. The process is simple: users browse a map of available surprise packages, reserve the one they like, pay through the app, and pick up their food at the specified time.

PC Optimum: A comprehensive loyalty program from Loblaws

PC Optimum is the official app of the loyalty program from Loblaws Companies, which includes such popular Calgary chains as Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Your Independent Grocer, and others. This app functions as a comprehensive system for accumulating and spending points, where users can earn points on every purchase and exchange them for free goods. The PC Optimum system works on a 10,000 points = $10 in merchandise value basis, making calculations simple and easy to understand for consumers. The app offers personalized offers based on the user's purchase history, which means that the more you use the program, the more relevant discounts you receive.

For Calgary residents, the integration of PC Optimum with PC Express, an online shopping service with delivery or pickup, is particularly useful. This allows you to earn points even when shopping online, as well as use your accumulated points to pay for delivery. The app also supports barcode scanning for quickly adding items to your shopping list and tracking prices.

Safeway: An integrated ecosystem of discounts and loyalty

The Safeway app combines several useful features for Calgary residents who shop at this popular chain. The app integrates with the Scene+ loyalty program, allowing you to earn points not only on groceries, but also redeem them for movie tickets, travel, and other rewards.

One of the unique features of the Safeway app is a weekly 15% discount on purchases of $50 or more on the first Tuesday of every month, which can mean significant savings for families who plan their major purchases around this promotion. The app also offers personalized coupons and offers based on the user's purchase history.

The “My NHL Picks” feature in the Safeway app adds a gaming element to the shopping process, allowing users to make predictions on hockey games and receive exclusive offers throughout the NHL season. For Canadian consumers, especially in Calgary with its strong hockey culture, this adds an extra incentive to use the app regularly.

Checkout 51: A cashback model for Canadian consumers

Checkout 51 represents a different savings model, focusing on cashback instead of instant discounts. This Canadian app updates its list of offers every Thursday, offering cashback on hundreds of products from leading brands. Users can purchase items at any store, scan their receipt through the app, and receive cash back.

The Checkout 51 system is particularly appealing to those who don't want to be tied to specific stores or chains. In Calgary, this means the freedom to shop at Walmart, Costco, local independent stores, or anywhere else that carries the items on the cashback list. The minimum payout amount is $20, making the program accessible even to small households.

The app has also expanded its services to include fuel cashback, with the opportunity to earn up to 25 cents per gallon at gas stations, which is especially relevant for Calgary residents who drive a lot. The integration of surveys as an additional way to earn money makes Checkout 51 a multifunctional tool for saving money.

Reebee: The digital revolution in the world of flyers

Reebee, now owned by the same company as Flipp, offers a slightly different approach to viewing discounts and creating shopping lists. The app aggregates flyers from hundreds of Canadian retailers, including all major chains represented in Calgary: Walmart, Real Canadian Superstore, Sobeys, No Frills, Costco, and many others.

A unique feature of Reebee is its intuitive interface for creating shopping lists organized by store. Users can easily add discounted items directly to their shopping lists, making it easier to plan routes and maximize savings. The app also supports a Watch List feature for tracking discounts on favorite items over time.

For Calgary residents who frequently use price matching, Reebee offers a convenient way to store found discounts, organized in a way that makes them easy to show to the cashier. The app also integrates with major chain loyalty cards, providing a comprehensive approach to savings.

Mobile Coupon and specialized apps for Canadians

Mobile Coupon and similar apps focus on providing exclusive offers to Canadian consumers. These apps often partner with local businesses and chains, offering discounts that are not always available through other platforms. For Calgary residents, this can mean access to exclusive offers from local independent stores or regional chains.

A unique feature of these apps is their ability to provide geolocation-based offers—discounts that are only available in certain areas of the city or specific locations. This is especially useful in a large city like Calgary, where different neighborhoods may have different shopping opportunities and exclusive offers.

Street Food Calgary and niche solutions

Street Food Calgary demonstrates how specialized apps can serve specific market segments. This app focuses exclusively on food trucks and mobile vendors in Calgary, providing up-to-date information on locations, menus, and special offers. For street food lovers, it is an indispensable tool for finding favorite food trucks and discovering new culinary opportunities at affordable prices.

The app is updated daily, tracking the movement of food trucks around the city and informing users about daily specials. This is especially useful in the summer, when food truck activity in Calgary peaks and consumers can take advantage of seasonal discounts and promotions.

Integration with major chains: price matching strategies

Understanding the price matching policies of Calgary's major chains is critical to maximizing the effectiveness of discount apps. No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore actively practice price matching, but with certain restrictions. Real Canadian Superstore will match the prices of “major supermarket competitors,” but the definition of who qualifies as such a competitor can vary depending on the specific store location.

Practical experience shows that the success of price matching often depends on the specific staff and management of the store. Some locations interpret the rules more liberally, while others strictly adhere to the list of approved competitors. For Calgary residents, this means it is important to be aware of the specific policies of their favorite stores and to prepare digital proof of discounts through apps such as Flipp or Reebee.

Save-On-Foods also practices price matching and is often more flexible in recognizing competitors, including No Frills. This makes Save-On-Foods an attractive alternative for consumers who actively use discount-finding apps.

Seasonal strategies and maximizing savings

Effective use of discount apps in Calgary requires an understanding of seasonal patterns and discount cycles. Many chains have regular sale cycles—for example, meat is often discounted at the end of the week, and fresh produce is discounted at the beginning of a new weekly flyer cycle.

Combining several apps can have a synergistic effect. For example, using Flipp to find the best prices, PC Optimum to accumulate points, and Flashfood to find discounted items nearing their expiration date can result in savings of 30-50% compared to regular, unplanned purchases.

It is important for families to plan their menus around available discounts, rather than the other way around. This requires flexibility in cooking plans, but can lead to significant monthly savings. Apps also help identify patterns in discounts on favorite items, allowing you to plan large purchases for periods of the biggest discounts.

The Future of Discount Apps in Calgary

Advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning promise to further personalize the discount-finding experience. Future versions of apps will likely better predict user needs, automatically create optimal shopping routes, and even integrate with smart home systems to automatically restock at the best prices.

Growing environmental awareness is also driving the development of apps focused on reducing food waste. Too Good To Go, Flashfood, and FoodHero are already demonstrating the success of this model, and we can expect to see new solutions that combine economic and environmental benefits.

Integration with delivery and car-sharing systems could also change the landscape of discount apps. Imagine an app that not only finds the best discounts, but also organizes joint purchases with neighbors to minimize delivery costs or suggests optimal routes for group shopping trips.

Calgary's discount app ecosystem is a dynamic and diverse system that offers consumers unprecedented savings opportunities. From traditional coupon apps to innovative food waste reduction platforms, city residents have access to tools that can significantly reduce their food costs while promoting sustainable consumption. The key to success is combining multiple apps, understanding discount cycles, and flexibly planning purchases around available offers. In a world of rising food prices, these technological solutions are becoming not just a convenience, but a necessity for many Canadian families seeking to maintain their standard of living without compromising on food quality.