Friday, May 11, 2012

Grocery iQ Update Sucks

I really liked Grocery IQ as an iOS shopping list app. I use it on the iPhone and iPad adding items to my using whichever device is closer. It let you track multiple stores and sort items by aisles (with names you could assign) per store and kept track of things previously bought. I shop in a few different stores (Russo's, Shaws, Whole Foods, CVS, Trader Joe's) so this was particularly useful. It could also track prices between stores but I never bothered. Adding items was easy as their was an online database of items. Often just scanning the barcode was enough and you could put it in the store and aisle you wanted.

But then came update 2.6 and they broke things and people are unhappy. Grocery iQ Update Drags App Down, Causing Customers To Flee. I'm not sure what they did. There are still stores but I don't see aisles and there's a master list. I had worked out the aisles for my items over a couple months and had them right between the stores (after doing this you learn to hate store reorganizations). Now there's one master list of items and the aisles are are mixed up in one list that sorted alphabetically. Russo's doesn't have aisles so I had used and sorted names such as outside, left, dairy, cheese, back, bakery, front, etc. Now that's all mixed up in one master list. A mess.

Fortunately the reviews are so bad that it's obviously they're going to have to undo the changes. They've already backed out some (bringing back prices which doesn't help me). I hope they bring back the rest. I've seen some apps that just say if you don't like the changes don't update. That's weak but almost reasonable since the update is free. However it does break the App Store's Update All feature so it's completely unreasonable.

Does anyone else use a grocery list app to the extent I outlines that they like and can recommend?
Update: As they comment below, they have released a couple of updates since this post and Grocery IQ is back to being a very good application.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We are pleased to announce the release of Grocery iQ 2.6.3 for iOS. This release improves overall usability and customer satisfaction.
What is Grocery iQ? With a database of millions of items and advanced features like cross-platform list sync, save-to-card coupons, barcode scan and voice recognition, Grocery iQ is the top grocery list building application for iOS and Android.

What are the key updates in this version ?
We've designed a new introductory experience for upgrading users to assist in the discovery of powerful list management features like aisle and package customization. The tab bar has been upgraded for rapid access to favorite items and easy switching between lists. We have included ad partner tracking code to enable our upcoming marketing tests with Mobclix and Millenial Media. This release also contains numerous bug fixes and stability enhancements geared to improve in-app performance and list sync functionality.

What are the benefits for users ?
• Exposure: Fewer steps required to build lists from favorites and find associated
• savings.
• Data: User generated package customization offers greater visibility into purchase behavior.
• Reach: First launch of the marketing campaign to increase downloads and expand audience reach.
Thanks to the Mobile Dev, UX, Design, Marketing and QA teams for pulling together the release !