Sainsbury's SmartShop
Scan & Bag as You Go
How much does Sainsbury's SmartShop cost?
Prices are current as of 10 Sept 2026.
Sainsbury's SmartShop has no in-app products on record in the United States.
10+ alternatives to Sainsbury's SmartShop
| Sainsbury's SmartShop |   Waitrose & Partners |   Matalan - Online Shopping |   Iceland Bonus Card | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Reviews | 206K | 124K | 118K | 25K |
| Released | 2015 | 2018 | 2014 | 2021 |
Sainsbury's SmartShop reviews
4.7 out of 5, based on 206,018 reviews.
What people like
- Saves a minimum of thirty minutes per trip
- Works well even without cell service
- Personalized offers are actually quite useful
- Easy to use and very straightforward
What they complain about
- Login loops and error codes block access
- Poor store WiFi makes the app unusable
- Scanning is slow and frequently glitches
- Shopping lists disappear after crashes or updates
The perfect shopping app
Easy to use, straightforward, does exactly what you need when shopping at Sainsbury's. So obviously Sainsbury's are 'replacing' it with something far more complicated, less easy to navigate, and without the shopping list feature. Apparently that's progress. Booooooooooo, Sainsbury's! Booooooooooo!
The worst app of all high streets
Really the worst. I have to spend so long just trying to log in when all others just know where I am by gps. The app takes gps data so it knows which store I am at yet forces me to scan a qr code - it is the worst designed app of all the supermarkets in the uk
Slooooow
Slow and variable performance. Sometimes cannot find the item. Even when using Sainsburys in store WiFi
Check at till
Very good idea but getting fed up with the quick check at the till. Makes you feel like you’re committing an offence.
Makes shopping easier
Makes my shopping trips really convenient. Don’t have to worry about the scanning thingies all having been taken and it works well even if I don’t have any cell service. It’s really nice to see each item’s price as I scan so I can see if it fits within my budget.
Today was rubbish…
Usually use the scanner which on the whole I haven’t had many issues with. Today, tried 2 hand sets, neither would unlock my nectar offers, despite allowing them on the app first. Resorted to using my phone for the 1st time which I really didn’t like as I usually have my phone tucked away & don’t need to connect to the store’s WiFi to enable me to use the app with poor quality network signal. I also prefer the fact you can put the scanner in the cradle on the trolley to enable hands free shopping.
Unreliable
This app was reliable for ages until it crashed at the checkout, and even with the assistance of a staff member, an entire shop could not be retrieved. Soon after, an ID/password issue rendered the app unusable for weeks and, of course, my shopping list was inaccessible. Although this was eventually resolved, I have to use mobile data when shopping with the app - never the store’s WiFi which always freezes the app. A shambles, quite honestly.
Shopping List to Sainsburys App
Hello. Please can you transfer over the shopping list option when you post it all over to the sainsburys app - it’s really useful and can’t see it at the moment…
Keep the app
Can we please keep this app the version on the main Sainsbury’s app is useless in comparison
Doesn’t work
It doesn’t work now, I appreciate you’re trying to incorporate it into the main app, but it’s not prominent enough on that at the moment, also unable to write a shopping list which was handy.
Poor in store connectivity
Great concept, but my local store has poor O2 mobile connectivity and very poor WiFi. Spending too long to connect on entry and laggy whilst shopping. Love it when it works.
Not Enough Hands
Great idea .. as scanners not working . However need somewhere on trolly to put the phone . Not enough hands to scan , pack & tick off the list .
Sainsbury’s Grocery
Where is the SmartShop part in the Grocery app. When’s SmartShop moving into the grocery app? So annoying as cannot use SmarrShop app in the local Sainsburys store near me
Zero notice to swap to Sainsbury’s app
Used the app on Monday with no issues. Now on Wednesday get a notification that this app is now redundant. Would have been handy to get a bit of notice you need to swap to the Sainsbury’s app. Not the end of the world but a bit of simple admin would have been handy
Suddenly become very slow
This was working fine but lately has been very slow. Used on 5G and in store Wi-Fi and the same issue so it’s not the connection - slow to load up, delays after each scan, “preparing your shop” messages constantly. Pretty sure the anomalies are also causing me to have manual checks at the checkout as frequency of these have also increased dramatically. It’s quicker to scan everything at checkout now.
fix change nectar card pls
Cant able to change my nectar card !! also more too many errors pls fixxxxx
Shelf locations
It would be even better if you could look up aisle & shelf locations for particular products as you can on the Morrisons app
Error 34009
No longer able to use this due to the error code, it was really handy and better than using the handhelds, but cannot get the app to work anymore no matter what I do!
Used to be fast but now very slow
I use this all the time. It’s handy and used to be very quick. Now since I took the latest IOS update it is terribly slow to scan and load your shopping to the till. This is despite being on Sainsbury’s wifi
Glitchy
When it works, it’s fab. Sadly, despite having internet connection it glitches and stops adding things and says there is no internet connection (bars are seen). It times out and wipes an entire shop leaving you to rescan everything that you’ve already bagged. Today was a total gem, I had scanned, it was buffering and when it loaded I checked the last 3 items. I thought yep they all scanned and then when at the checkout I got a random check one of the items hadn’t scanned. Meaning a rescan of the entire shop. I wish supermarkets would go back to the way they were before.
Back working
A glitch that kept causing the app to ask to reset password has been fixed….hurrah! Normal shopping has resumed.
Unable to setup
Completely fed up with the app. It would appear after several months they’ve not yet ironed out the 34009 error on set up rendering it useless no matter what I do. Using iPhone 15 pro max and version 3.39.1
Love it
Love my personalised offers! Easy to use with the occasional tech issues. If Sainsbury’s can offer e-receipt as well for SmartShop that would be great!
When it works it’s good
Consistent WiFi problems in branches render the app unusable from time to time. No 4G accessible in the store, if you keep your shopping list in the app and then can’t use it, it’s very frustrating. Complain in store and you get told the WiFi needs parts from Scandinavia, and it’s been more than 6 weeks. No date for resolution. But when it works it’s very good.
Check my review
Our shop for nectar cards @nectarbals
Heading to Waitrose instead
Have been using smart shop for a lot of years. Today, it was as if I was a total stranger. It said scan my nectar card( which I no longer carry as I have ( had) smart shop. So I have voted with my feet.
Takes 10x as long to checkout
Great in theory but once you reach the end you have to show a QR code to a staff member who will check your bag and randomly scan one of your items to make sure you scanned it. I waited at least 10 minutes for a staff member to be available to do this check.
Nice but key features missing
Like many shoppers, I do not live alone. Please allow us to share our shopping list with someone else?
Time saver
Saves a minimum of 30 mins on every trip to Sainsburys
Reduced items.
Unable to remove reduced items from your basket.
Normally Good
So, can the developers stop Messing with the app. It works perfectly then you do something to it, and it suddenly works differently… and normally the only time you’ll know is when you go to use it in the first isle of the supermarket. So, maybe notify users? Say, before you use it next time you need to do something? Not that hard!
Shopping
Easy and fast! 👍👍👍👍
Rubbish signal
Everytime I go to local store I have to reload the smart shop app. If the WiFi is working then the smart shop is very slow to load, many times the WiFi isn’t working and local store is in poor mobile signal area.
Issue about Apple Pay
The app was great. Until now I can’t no longer use apple pay to do the checkout, as the button is gone after I switched between another Apple ID.
Lost the will to continue
Ios26 iphone: Tried to register several times - each time shown a modal dialog demanding that I update. This goes to download page. Clicking update/open returns to the app with the modal dialog still up. This loop persists through swipe-closing the app etc. Eventually deleted and re-downloaded app. Got error 34104 during registration and decided I’d rather waste my time writing this than waste it trying to fix.
No internet? Uh oh
It’s a great idea - the app is fairly straight forward and seems easy to use. However, I went to use it yesterday and found that I needed to be connected to the internet to use it. I had no service in that big metal box of a store, and there was no WiFi available. So, Sainsbury’s it’s a good idea to try to help your customers but how about helping us to actually be able to use it?!
Sainsbury's SmartShop FAQ
- Is Sainsbury's SmartShop free?
- Yes. The app is free, in all 175 countries it sells in, and it sells nothing inside it.
- Does Sainsbury's SmartShop have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- What are the best alternatives to Sainsbury's SmartShop?
- Waitrose & Partners (4.7 from 124,209 reviews), Matalan - Online Shopping (4.8 from 117,779 reviews) and Iceland Bonus Card (4.8 from 24,906 reviews).
Sainsbury's SmartShop download
Last updated 2 months ago.
Sainsbury's SmartShop sells in 175 countries. It was released 11 years ago, on 21 Sept 2015. It holds a 4.7 rating from 206,018 reviews.
Supports 1 language: English.
How much does Sainsbury's SmartShop make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.