Making a list for the grocery store isn’t difficult. Keeping track of that list throughout the week, making sure you put it in your pocket or purse before you leave the house, and then remembering to bring a pen to mark things off, are the difficult parts. We’ve all been there, you get to the store and you reach in your pocket for your grocery list, and there’s nothing to be found. Then, when you get home, you realize that you missed a dozen items that you really couldn’t afford to go without, and now you’re back off to the store again. Hoping to remedy this situation is Let It Shop, a great Android app from developer Jrk that brings grocery lists and technology together in a simple and easy to understand manner.
Let It Shop is simple, a theme that carries over into every aspect of this Android app. When you first open the app you’re presented with a blank page and a text box that says “I need to buy something…” which is your prompt to start entering your shopping list. Since most of us keep our phones in our pockets at all times, it’s easy to whip it out and add a new item each time you open the refridgerator or cabinet to look for something to eat. Of course you’re not relegated to food items, you can enter any item you need to shop for on your list.
When you tap the text prompt your keyboard pops up and you can start searching. As soon as you start typing the predictive menu will start offering suggestions for you to choose from. You’re not obligated to select from one of these items, they’re simply there to try and speed up the process. After you enter your item name or select if from the list, Let It Shop asks for the price and size of the package. You don’t have to know any of this information when you add it to the list, but it can make things easier when you get to the store. After you have the information in the system tap ‘+ Add’ and presto, you’ve started your first Let It Shop list!
After you’ve added your item, Let It Shop takes you back to the main list screen. Your new item should show up in the main white area, just below the text prompt. At this point you likely noticed the dollar sign in green off to the right. You can change the currency symbol if you’re not shopping in the US. This feature is very handy once you get to the store and start price shopping. After you find the first item on your list you can tap the dollar sign and you will prompted for a price. Enter the price of the item you plan to purchase then hit ‘OK’ and the Let It Shop adds the price of the item to the list. The running total is kept at the bottom of the screen so you always know how much money you’ve spent. When you’re on a budget this feature can be vital to having a successful shopping trip. Let It Shop is helping to do what smartphones have been promising for years, it’s making our daily life better and easier to manage.
Now the fun part, actually marking the items off your list as you shop. Simply tap the item in your list and Let It Shop marks it off and moves it to the bottom. This helps keep the most important items at the top and lets users avoid unnecessary scrolling to find items they may have missed. There are also times when you might want to make separate lists, and Let It Shop makes that incredibly easy. Simply slide your finger across the screen from right to left and you’re presented with a new list. You can add names to the lists to help keep things even more organized. Once you’re done with a list just tap the options button in the top right corner and select ‘Remove this list’ to take that list out of rotation. You can also have Let It Shop remove the crossed off items from an ongoing list to keep things neat and clean.
Overall this is a very handy, simple to use, and enjoyable app that makes going to the store a breeze. You’ve got your Android device in your pocket already, why not use it for yet another aspect of your life? Plus, Let It Shop is free! There are ads at the bottom of the screen to help support the developer, but they’re unobtrusive and don’t pose any problem. Let It Shop is highly recommended, and should make a great tool for anyone that does the shopping for themselves or a family.
Let It Shop is available now for free from Google Play, and is compatible with Android 2.1 and up. Version reviewed was 1.2.2 and the file size is 1.3MB. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this Android app review.