Four supermarket apps that mean you always get the best deals

We all know we need to shop around for the best price on groceries, but honestly, who has the time? The reason supermarkets took off in the first place was for the convenience and simplicity they brought to the weekly shop. If only there was a way to shop around without the effort....

See also: Seven ways to earn cash back

See also: What time of day does your supermarket cut prices?

Fortunately, we have four great apps to do the work for you.

1. Mysupermarket.co.uk
If you are prepared to shop around, and do a few shops a week, the app from Mysupermarket.co.uk is the best way to save a fortune. There are a couple of ways to get started with it. If you already shop online, then you can import your favourites from any retailer. Alternatively, you can enter everything into the shopping list, and it will track down all the items for you and compare them in 13 major retailers.

You can switch supermarkets, to get an idea of which one is cheapest overall, or use it to track down where each item is cheapest and do a number of shops.

There are lots of handy tools built into it too, which means you can do things like set an alert on an item, so you will automatically know if one of your favourites is on offer (or the price has dropped) at any time.

2. Deal Finder
If you can only face one weekly shop, then the new Deal Finder app from GoCompare might work for you too. It's a Chrome extension that once downloaded will help track down the best deals when you shop online at Asda, Tesco or Morrisons.

While you're shopping, if it identifies a better deal on a different size of the same item - or a particular combination of purchases - then it will notify you of the deal. It may be cheaper, for example, to buy a larger pack, or two of the smaller ones. You can then either choose to buy the cheapest, or stick with your original choice.

3. Topcashback.co.uk
Members of the cashback website can take advantage of deals using the app. There are also some app-exclusive deals, which change on a regular basis, so it's worth checking before you head out. If there's a deal you like the look of, then you simply unlock the offer, scan the product barcode, purchase the item, then snap your till receipt using the app camera. If approved your cashback should be with you in minutes.

4. Shopitize
Shopitize is another cashback app. It's worth having both on your phone, so you can take advantage of the best deals. It also means you can 'stack' the deals, so if they both offer cash back on the same item, you can claim it from both of them. That way you can effectively get a number of items free. You need to browse the offers before you go, then unlock them. That way you simply scan the barcodes in store, take and upload a photo of your full receipt, and get the cashback straight into your account.