How do I scan a product?
Open the Scan tab, frame the barcode, and read the local prices that stream back.
Short answer
Open the Scan tab, hold your phone so the product’s barcode fills the middle of the viewfinder, and wait. PriceGoose decodes the barcode on your phone, identifies the product, then checks grocery stores near you and lists their prices with the cheapest first.
When to use this article
Use this when you are scanning for the first time, or when scans are decoding slowly and you want to know how to frame them better.
Scan step by step
- Open the Scan tab.
- Hold the product so the barcode is flat and facing the camera, not curved around a corner of the package.
- Fill roughly the middle third of the viewfinder with the barcode. Too far away is the most common reason a code will not decode.
- Keep the phone steady. Most failures are motion blur rather than a bad barcode.
- Give it good light. In a dim aisle, move the item toward the shelf lighting rather than covering it with your own shadow.
- Wait for the result. Stores are checked one at a time, so the list fills in over a few seconds rather than appearing at once.
- Check the product name and size shown at the top against the item in your hand before trusting the prices.
What you can scan
Packaged grocery products with a standard printed barcode — the UPC or EAN on the back or underside of the package. That covers most of a typical grocery shop.
What generally will not work:
- Loose produce, which is priced by weight and has no product barcode
- Deli-counter, meat-counter, and in-store bakery items with a store-printed sticker
- Store-printed weighted labels, where the barcode encodes a price rather than a product
- QR codes, recycling marks, and promotional codes elsewhere on the package
Common mistakes to avoid
- Scanning a QR code or promotional code instead of the product barcode
- Holding the phone so close that the camera cannot focus
- Scanning a curved or crumpled barcode without flattening the package first
- Giving up before results finish streaming in
What to do next
If the barcode will not decode at all, see Why was my barcode not recognized?. If the product was identified but no store prices came back, see Why did no prices show up near me?.