Shopper develops site comparing cost of identical Coles and Woolworths groceries

A clever shopper has developed a simple way consumers can directly compare the cost of identical groceries at Coles and Woolworths.

A nifty shopper has developed a genius hack to save big dollars when shopping with supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths.

While most would consider the rival retailers largely comparable when it comes to the price of everyday items, a new tool has uncovered just how much they can actually differ.

Sydney man Dallas Hall developed the website SmartCart during lockdown after noting the financial strain rolling restrictions were having on people across the country.

His site allows customers to easily compare the total cost of an online grocery shop at Woolworths with Coles, and measure how much money they can save.

In an example shared by Mr Hall in a demonstration video, he found he could save more $50 if he shopped at Coles for his particular list of items.

Shoppers now have an easy way to see if Coles of Woolies is cheaper

An example showed a $50 saving could be made at Coles. Picture: NCA NewsWire

By adding the SmartCart extension to an internet browser on either a PC or Mac, users can add their items to their cart, using their login, on either the Woolworths or Coles website.

Once the cart has been filled with all the items, a button will present at the bottom saying “compare your cart”.

“All you need to do is click on that and it’ll open up the cart comparison function,” Mr Hall explained in a YouTube video.

The site will then analyse all of the items in the cart and find either an identical or similar item listed on the other supermarket’s website and show its price.

The two lists will then display side-by-side and the items will either have a green tick if an identical product was found, or have the word “similar” if a similar product was found.

Shoppers also have the option to replace a similar item with a preferred choice if they are not happy with what the site defaulted to.

If the customer discovers their shop would be cheaper at the other supermarket, they can select the “shop at Coles/Woolworths” option, and be redirected to the respective website.

A SmartCart pop up box will then appear and give the customer the option to automatically fill the cart with the items it had just compared with the other supermarket.

Mr Hall found that he could save more than $50 at Coles. Picture: YouTube/SmartCart

Once the items have been loaded, the shopper can checkout on the supermarket site like they normally would.

Mr Hall shared his exciting development in a budgeting Facebook group this week where he received praise from dozens of grateful shoppers.

“Thanks so much! This will be great because I often take time to compare for certain things we need before shopping,” one person wrote in a comment.

“Thank you so much for this! I do it manually every week, this will be so helpful. Great job,” another said.

The tool is currently only available as an internet extension but if enough interest is generated, it will likely be developed into a phone app, Mr Hall said.

Some shoppers said they would also appreciate the option to compare other retailers like Aldi and IGA.

Originally published as Shopper develops site comparing cost of identical Coles and Woolworths groceries