A New Zealand developer has created an app to help Kiwi shoppers find the best deals on groceries, as the cost-of-living skyrockets in the country. 

Grocer.nz is a new web app where people can input their preferred stores to find out the prices of groceries in them, before they decide where to go for their grocery shopping. 

The site is the brainchild of web developer Roc Wong, 37, who has been working on the project since January. 

Wong had previously developed a different price comparison site for groceries three years ago but it was trickier to use. With the cost-of-living increase over the last few months, he found renewed motivation to build an even better tool. 

"I always found it would be nice to know the price across multiple vendors, so I wouldn't end up regretting my purchase choice. The app might not save some a lot, but it does make things a bit easier, and it's nice to make an informed decision," he told the Herald. 

Grocer took Wong around three months to build. He said "technology wise, the most difficult part would be collecting all the price data across all the vendors and all their stores". 

"Furthermore, the products need to be matched up across the supermarkets," he added. 

Users can select their preferred supermarket stores and compare prices of different items by either scanning barcodes or searching for products by name. 

Grocer allows users to compare grocery prices across multiple stores. Photo / Supplied 

The web app displays prices for every item at Countdown, New World and Pak 'n Save branches nationwide. Prices are updated daily. 

The developer hopes supermarkets embrace the application as a way to empower consumers to make better-informed decisions and to encourage competition within the sector. 

Wong said he does "not mean any harm" to the businesses but is wary that the supermarket companies can "easily" force him to shut down the Grocer site, "as it basically scrapes data from the official online stores, which may breach their terms of service". 

However, he knows that Grocer is not the only price comparison site doing so and hopes supermarkets do not take issue with it. 

"I'm just a developer who wants my money to make a bigger bang. While I am super keen to co-operate to make things easier for everyone, I hope the regulators are on my side in case I get cease and desist letter," he said. 

Wong quotes the "Market study into the retail grocery sector" by the Commerce Commission which recommends that supermarkets "co-operate with existing or potential price comparison services in New Zealand". 

"Price comparison websites for the retail grocery sector are in their infancy in New Zealand, and demand for such services from consumers is unclear. However, price comparison websites can promote competition by making it easier for consumers to make well-informed decisions when choosing between goods and services," the report, cited by Wong, states. 

Wong posted about Grocer on Reddit and Facebook a couple of days ago and says feedback, so far, "has been pretty positive". 

"People were very thankful and provided a lot of useful feedback which I may implement in the future," he said. 

The site, which users can access for free, has already got a few thousand users, keen to find out where to go to make their grocery money stretch a little further. 

According to Stats NZ, food prices were 7.6 per cent higher in March 2022 compared with March 2021. 

"There are signs high inflation outcomes are broadening and may increasingly be more persistent," ASB senior economist Mark Smith said last week. 

"High global food commodity prices and our expectations of higher wage costs are expected to lock in elevated annual food price inflation over 2022."