We’re living in the age of online shopping. While there’s still a certain nostalgia for visiting shops on the high street, more and more of us are prioritising the convenience of online retail – especially since the beginning of the pandemic.
The most obvious benefit to shopping online is being able to search through thousands of products from the comfort of your own home, but that process takes time. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a tool that did the heavy lifting for you and ensured you were getting the best deal?
Well let us introduce you to Idealo, the mobile app that puts the power of price comparison in your pocket. In the next installment of our Money Saving Apps series we’ll explore what Idealo is, how it works, and how it can help you save money as you shop.
What is Idealo?
Idealo is a price comparison app that allows shoppers to make sure they’re getting the best price on whatever product they’re buying by comparing the price of that product across thousands of retailers.
Founded in Berlin, Idealo is most often accessed through the website – which is now the fifth largest ecommerce site in Germany, behind ecommerce behemoths like Amazon and eBay. Idealo is also available to download as a mobile app, allowing users to save money on the go.
Idealo’s customer base around the world is large, and still growing. The app has attracted more than 28 million monthly visitors, mostly concentrated in the likes of Germany, Austria, France, and the UK, and boasts relationships with over 50,000 retailers.
How does Idealo work?
One of the best things about Idealo is how easy it is to use. Let’s say you’re using the Idealo website to search for a pair of Apple airpods. The simple four-step process would look something like this:
Step 1
You visit idealo.co.uk and type in ‘Apple airpods’ in the search bar at the top of the website homepage.
Step 2
You’re taken to a search results page which will show you a range of results relevant to your search. You may be shown other kinds of wireless headphones, but you would simply click on the image of airpods to progress.
Step 3:
You’ll be taken to a comparison page specific to Apple airpods. Here, you’ll be able to scroll through various airpods offers from different retailers. As well as comparing prices, you can also compare factors like delivery cost, delivery time, and payment options, allowing you to make an informed decision on which offer is best for your circumstances.
Step 4:
Choose the best offer for you, click on that offer, and you’ll be redirected to the retailer’s website. Once you’re there, simply complete the purchase the way you usually would.
What problem does Idealo solve?
Idealo is set up to help people save money while they shop. Nobody wants to spend more of their hard earned cash when they can get the same product cheaper elsewhere. The thing that causes us to spend more money than we need to is a lack of knowledge.
We don’t always know where to find the best deals, or which retailers we can trust. But Idealo does. It gives users an at-a-glance breakdown of the cost of items across thousands of retailers, and allows them to easily find the best price.
And we know that online shopping isn’t just about price. If you’re buying a present for a rapidly approaching birthday, or your Kindle is broken and you’re going on holiday the next day, a shipping estimate of two weeks is no good, no matter how much money you’d be saving.
By allowing you to compare all of the important factors around a purchasing decision, including delivery time and delivery cost, as well as price, Idealo gives you all the information you need to to save yourself money, time, and hassle.
Will I have to pay for Idealo?
The only people Idealo charges for its service are retailers. Given the price comparison site gives brands access to millions of deal-hungry shoppers per month, and allows those shoppers to easily find their products, it’s no surprise they have to pay for the privilege.
Idealo treats its users differently, however, and prides itself on the fact that it was set up to provide a kind of public service to consumers – allowing them free access to thousands of offers that will save them money.
In other words, using Idealo won’t cost you a penny, no matter whether you’re using the website on your browser, or downloading the app for free from the app store or Google Play store.
How does Idealo help me save money?
Of all the apps we’ve looked at throughout our Money Saving Apps series, Idealo is arguably the one that has the most direct impact on the user’s bank balance.
As more brands start to take an online-first approach to retail, the best deals can often be found online. Even if you’re a tech-savvy person who is comfortable trawling the internet for offers, however, there’s always the nagging feeling that a better deal is out there somewhere.
Idealo makes that nagging feeling go away. While they don’t enjoy partnerships with every retailer under the sun, 50,000 is a good start.
By comparing prices from leading retailers in just a matter of seconds, buying via Idealo gives you the confidence that you’re getting a great deal. All you have to do is pick the price that suits you and make the purchase, and you can actually see the money you’re saving in real time.
