CheckMyTrolley Launches to Tackle New Zealand Grocery Costs

Dairy farmer John Duff—who returned to his Taieri Plain farm after a decade in Australia—identified grocery prices as a growing pinch-point for New Zealand households. He partnered with a developer to release CheckMyTrolley on Apple devices, with an Android version slated for later this year. The app lets users create a digital shopping list and instantly see which supermarket offers the lowest total price. Duff reports that he saved $148 in his first month using the service, describing the result as a personal success.

The New Zealand Herald

CheckMyTrolley joins two existing price-comparison tools: Grocer, a hobby project started five years ago by software engineer Roc Wong, and Grosave, co-founded in April last year by developer Tim Hong with Murray Wong and Jayon Thomas. Both Grocer and Grosave have attracted roughly 70,000 users each. Wong’s data analysis reveals a “high-low” weekly price cycle for many processed items such as ice cream and chocolate, while fresh produce prices tend to follow seasonal trends. Supermarkets have not publicly objected to the data-scraping methods employed by the apps.

The New Zealand Herald

University student Lara Bishell saved $100 in a month by switching brands after the app showed a $3 price gap for tofu. She said the tool reduced her financial stress and helped her navigate the higher cost of plant-based foods. Tim Hong emphasizes that the apps address a “huge transparency issue for pricing” and aim to support “a healthy and affordable diet.” He notes that major retailers have not yet contacted the developers, and he believes the publicly available data justifies the approach.

The New Zealand Herald

Consumer NZ’s head of research and advocacy, Gemma Rasmussen, explains that online price comparison enables shoppers to stick to a list and avoid impulse purchases, which can generate “pretty significant savings.” A recent Consumer NZ analysis of a 16-item basket across eight weeks and four cities identified Pak’nSave as the cheapest overall supermarket.

The New Zealand Herald

• “This is very common for processed goods like ice cream, chocolate, whereas the fresh produce is more bound to the season.” — Roc Wong, a software engineer

The New Zealand Herald

• “It was interesting because I thought Pak’nSave was the cheapest, but when I was looking, it was telling me Woolworths or New World.” — Lara Bishell

The New Zealand Herald

• “There’s this huge transparency issue for pricing; that’s why we did this first, but as we expand this we want to make sure people have a healthy and affordable diet, that’s our vision.” — Tim Hong

The New Zealand Herald