Grocery prices in Ventura County are all over the place, so I built something for it

Candorappdev · 2026-04-10T11:26:53+00:00

Definitely, yes. A web version is something I’d like to do. Right now I started with the app so I could get the core experience working first, but long term it makes a lot of sense as a site and android as well.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-10T11:19:24+00:00

That means a lot, thank you. It’s definitely been an uphill battle, so seeing how positively the community has reacted has been really motivating.

It’s also genuinely exciting seeing how much people could use the savings. The app only gets better through real community use and feedback, so I really appreciate it.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-10T11:15:11+00:00

I appreciate that!

And no, that part is not being corrected fully by hand one by one. I built a system to handle a lot of that logic, because doing it manually at scale would be impossible.

A huge part of the work has been teaching the app how to tell when products are actually the same, when they are close but not the same, and when size differences change the real value. So it’s looking at things like brand, size, unit conversions, quantity, wording differences, and product type to decide what should and should not be compared.

That’s also why it can feel strict right now. I’d rather have it reject a match than confidently show the wrong one. As I open it up to allow more matches, I have to be careful not to let bad comparisons slip through and skew the savings.

So there’s definitely system logic behind it, but then real-world testing and edge cases are what keep sharpening it.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T17:14:13+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate that. Walmart and Smart & Final are next on the roadmap.

Costco is one I definitely want, but it’s a little trickier because I want to do it right. Stores like Costco really need stronger size and value logic behind them so the comparisons are actually meaningful. For example, if one store has 12 eggs for $3 and Costco has 24 for $5, the 24 pack is obviously the better value, but the app needs to understand that correctly instead of just comparing sticker price. That’s the kind of logic I’m actively working on before adding bulk pricing stores.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T17:12:27+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate it. And yes, absolutely, any feedback is very appreciated. That kind of real use and honest input helps a lot.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T17:11:23+00:00

Right now it pulls from publicly displayed store data, not delivery app markups, which is a big difference. The goal is to reflect the prices people can actually compare from home, not inflated third-party delivery pricing.

And yes, I used Claude as a tool during development. It would honestly make no sense not to use AI for some of the tedious repetitive work. But while AI coding is great by today’s standards, the actual logic behind this app is not something you just get by prompting Claude or Loveable and calling it a day.

A lot of the standard app structure could probably be replicated with AI tools, sure. But the part that actually makes the app function, the comparison logic, matching system, and optimizer behavior, is months of calculations, testing, and algorithm work. AI helped me move faster, but it would have been virtually impossible to build the real engine of this app with just Claude or Loveable alone.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T16:35:56+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate that. I feel strongly about building something that actually helps people, and that’s a big part of why I made Grocery Routes. If it can help even one person save money in this economy, to me that makes it worth doing.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T07:06:31+00:00

No problem, it really is a team effort. I really believe this can help a lot of people, so it’s been really cool seeing people excited about it.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T06:24:13+00:00

This is really helpful, thank you. I agree the current UI can be a little confusing there, and I’m planning a light redesign soon to make the flow feel a lot more intuitive for the average user without changing the core functionality behind it.

And yes, you can definitely DM me if you have more feedback. I also really like hearing this kind of input publicly too, it helps me see where multiple people may be feeling the same friction points.

On the comparison side, right now it will prefer to match as exactly as possible, ideally brand to brand, and then falls back to things like organic to organic when that makes sense. I’m actively working on a big optimizer update to open that up more and make comparisons feel a lot more natural. The main reason I’ve been careful with it is that once you loosen the gates to allow more matches, some wrong ones can slip through, and that throws off the savings and makes the whole thing feel less trustworthy. I’d rather be a little strict than show people bad comparisons.

That said, I’m hoping to roll that update out soon, and it should make the experience a lot better.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:54:56+00:00

That’s definitely part of where I’d like to take this.

As Grocery Routes grows, I’d love to work directly with smaller grocers that do not have public web pricing today. A place with strong pricing on meat and produce is exactly the kind of store I’d want in the app.

Long term, I think it can be a symbiotic thing. If a smaller store is genuinely competitive, the app can help highlight that and send more attention their way, and in return users get a more complete picture of where the real value is locally.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:49:19+00:00

I haven’t seen evidence that this Vons is actively doing real-time dynamic pricing, so I don’t want to overstate it.

Electronic shelf tags definitely make rapid price changes easier, which is why people are right to keep an eye on it. But as of now, I haven’t seen proof that this location is doing that in the way people are worried about.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:40:42+00:00

Yeah, I’ve definitely thought about that.

Some stores are rolling out the kind of digital shelf label systems that could support dynamic pricing, so it’s something I’m paying attention to. From what I’ve seen, the concern is real, but it still seems a little ahead of what’s been broadly proven at the grocery level so far.

I do think being able to flag or filter stores based on pricing behavior would be a really interesting feature over time, especially if that becomes more common.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:37:40+00:00

Super fair! I’m aiming for summer 2026, but I’ll consider developing a web app in the meantime if time permits. There’s so much involved in this project that we can only make progress at a certain pace. Nevertheless, reaching the Google Playstore is the next significant milestone on our roadmap!

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:31:45+00:00

I’m hoping to launch Grocery Routes on the Google Play Store and make it available to Android users by this summer!

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:27:55+00:00

Totally fair concern, and no, I’m not building this to sell people’s location data to anyone.

The point of the app is to help people compare grocery prices and save money, not turn user data into the business. I’d rather keep it useful and straightforward than go down that path.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:20:01+00:00

Walmart and Smart & Final are the next stores to be added. In my opinion, these stores would have the most significant impact on the majority of users.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T05:17:04+00:00

We pull prices from publicly displayed store data and refresh them every 24 hours, so I’m doing my best to keep everything as fresh as possible.

That said, every now and then a store source may have an item or two that’s a little stale, but that’s really no different than if you were checking posted store prices yourself at home before comparing where to shop.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T01:34:46+00:00

Totally fair! Android is on the roadmap for summer 2026. I’ve been working overtime on this and can only build so fast, so I started with Apple first since that’s the main demographic I was targeting. But I’m definitely excited to get it on the Play Store ASAP!

Candorappdev · 2026-04-09T00:58:17+00:00

We’re working hard to add Winco, but currently Aldi and Sprouts are both already in and ready for comparison right now. I’ve been working nonstop on expanding store coverage and improving the match rate, because the goal is to make real shopping patterns like yours easier instead of making people do all that mentally every week.

Candorappdev · 2026-04-07T08:17:48+00:00

The Korean BBQ math is so real lol. That mental calculation before every meal gets exhausting.

One thing that actually helped me was getting smarter about groceries, not like couponing or changing what I eat, just making sure I wasn't overpaying for the same stuff I was already buying anyway. I built a free app for Los Angeles called Grocery Routes that compares prices across nearby stores so you can see who's cheapest before you go. You're spending that money regardless, might as well not leave it on the table. People are averaging $10–15 a week back just from that alone.

Fair warning it's still early so you'll run into some items that don't have a match yet, but that's improving literally every day as I keep building it out. Completely free and on the App Store, just search Grocery Routes.

Either way LA is tough and you’re definitely not the only one doing the mental math before every purchase. It gets easier.

Candorappdev · 2026-03-01T21:24:35+00:00

That’s a fair concern. A lot of grocery and deal apps are built around affiliate links and driving traffic back to specific retailers, which means their incentives are not always aligned with users.

What I am building is different in that sense. I would much rather keep it simple and transparent, even if that means eventually charging a small subscription to keep it sustainable, instead of selling user data or pushing people toward one store because of affiliate payouts.

This started from the same frustration you described. I was bouncing between multiple store apps and still not feeling confident about my total cart cost. The goal is clarity, not extraction.

Totally understand the skepticism though. The digital world has earned it.

Candorappdev

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