Podcast Summary: How Grocery Dealz Is Building the “Gas Buddy for Groceries” | Omni Talk Retail Spotlight Series

Podcast: Omni Talk Retail
Episode: How Grocery Dealz Is Building the "Gas Buddy for Groceries" | Spotlight Series
Date: October 27, 2025
Guests:

• Chris Walton, Co-host
• Anne Mezzenga, Co-host
• Matt Goins, Co-founder & Co-CEO, Grocery Dealz

Episode Overview

This episode of Omni Talk Retail’s Spotlight Series delves into how Grocery Dealz, a startup from Texas, is revolutionizing grocery price comparison—much like GasBuddy transformed gas purchasing. Hosts Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga interview Matt Goins, co-founder and co-CEO, who explains the genesis of the company, the development of their comparison app, and how their focus on transparency, AI, and value for both consumers and retailers sets them apart. Key themes include product development, data challenges, business partnerships, and the evolving landscape of grocery retail technology.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Inspiration of Grocery Dealz

• The idea sparked from co-founder Michael Waldrop, who frequently brainstorms entrepreneurial ventures with Matt Goins (02:08).
• Market gap: "Grocery prices are insane and there’s just not a tool out there that can help people compare and save...this doesn't involve coupons. It's just looking at the stores around you, much like a GasBuddy or GoodRX." — Matt Goins (02:31)
• Goins' background: Deep experience in mobile app marketing (Expedia, Hotels.com) and scaling tech startups influenced their approach (04:03).

2. The Product: Functionality and Rollout

• Product type: B2C2B—consumer-first, enabling potential for B2B partnerships with retailers and brands (06:08).
• User flow (08:01):
  • Download free app (iOS, currently)
  • Build a shopping list (search or select featured items)
  • Compare prices across stores in the user’s area to identify savings
• Major differentiation: No coupon clipping, agnostic to which store consumers choose—"We're not trying to replace the Kroger app or Instacart. We're just a starting point that launches you into those platforms." — Matt Goins (08:56)
• Current and upcoming coverage: Live in Texas, rolling out to California, with plans for New York, Illinois, Florida soon (07:48).

3. Data and Technology Challenges

• Matching products across multiple retailers is complex due to varying product availability, substitutions, and categorization (06:24).
• Heavy reliance on AI for:
  • Comparison engine & substitution process (20:15)
  • Normalizing disparate data (20:36)
• "What Kroger calls bread...Target may categorize it under bread and bakery...we use AI for a ton in the app." — Matt Goins (20:36)

4. Business Model and Market Strategy

• The forthcoming major feature: Instacart SDK integration for delivery fulfillment (10:03).
  • "Now Instacart will be our main delivery fulfillment for all our shoppers..."
• Building a “retail media marketplace”—a platform for brands/retailers to engage shoppers at the critical decision moment (11:26).
• B2B Opportunity:
  • Retailers get a “last chance” to win over customers who may have lost them in the comparison process (12:32).
  • Brands can target specific consumers based on first-party data (11:26).
• Mixed retailer responses:
  • Progressive CMOs embracing tech, talking about price matching to gain or retain valuable customers (13:32).
  • “Old guard” retail hesitant to share prices, despite data showing 82% of consumers already comparison shop (14:37).

5. The Value of Comparison Shopping

• For consumers: Alleviates burden of rising grocery prices; fosters a sense of confidence in deal-seeking (16:07).
• For retailers: Opportunity to “own” the comparison process, building loyalty and reducing bounce to competitors (17:23).
• Hotels.com analogy: Listing competitor prices directly increased trust, slashed bounce rate from 95% to sub-40%, translating to major revenue gains (17:53).

6. AI’s Role and Competitive Positioning

• AI central to Grocery Dealz, but barriers such as retailer relationships, scale, and back-end integration make their proposition defensible vs. generic AI/chatbot solutions (21:52).
• "Building the marketplace, building the relationships with the CPGs and the retailers, just getting the amount of data that we have and accessing that data is still...extremely difficult." — Matt Goins (22:20)

7. Vision for the Future

• Consumer goal: Be the “GasBuddy for groceries,” fostering mass adoption and significant savings (23:30).
• B2B goal: Deep retailer/CPG engagement, creating tailored programs and offers within the transparency marketplace (24:00).
• "Hopefully in a year from now, we’re saying this has taken over America...massive adoption." — Matt Goins (23:39)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Opportunity:
  "No one knows exactly how much they could save by switching stores...this doesn't involve coupons. It's just looking at the stores around you, much like a GasBuddy or GoodRX." — Matt Goins [02:31]

• On Product Perfection:
  "The comparison has to be perfect. Can't just be slightly off or only matching for nine out of ten items." — Matt Goins [06:44]

• On Consumer Education:
  "We're having to really do a lot of education to consumers that, hey, this is out there...It doesn’t involve coupon clipping. Works with any retailer you already shop at." — Matt Goins [08:51]

• On Retailer Resistance:
  "Number one feedback...We don’t want our prices out there. And what I tell them—82% of consumers are already comparison shopping...might as well embrace this and be a part of it." — Matt Goins [14:37]

• On Loyalty and Comparison:
  "When I was at hotels.com...our rewards members...wouldn’t switch for $10 or $15 savings...Just like I’m not gonna switch to Walmart...but for $40? Sorry, I’d swim." — Matt Goins [18:39]

• On Competitive Defensibility:
  "Building the marketplace, building the relationships with the CPGs and the retailers...getting the amount of data that we have and accessing that data is still...extremely difficult." — Matt Goins [22:20]

• On Ambition:
  "Hopefully in a year from now, we're saying this has taken over America. This has massive adoption, much like GasBuddy did when they started in '07 and the gas prices hit all-time highs." — Matt Goins [23:39]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Matt's background: 00:44–04:03
• How Grocery Dealz started: 02:08–03:44
• Product explanation & user flow: 06:08–09:19
• Tech & expansion (Instacart integration): 10:03–11:07
• Retailer, brand engagement & reactions: 11:20–15:25
• Comparison shopping value & Hotels.com story: 16:07–19:16
• AI’s impact in Grocery Dealz: 20:15–22:57
• Vision for one year ahead: 23:30–24:41
• How to connect, website: 25:05

Conclusion

Grocery Dealz is positioning itself as the essential price-comparison tool for grocery shoppers, striving to bring radical transparency and savings to a market hungry for solutions. By leveraging AI, industry experience, and strategic partnerships, they've designed an app that not only helps consumers save money but also gives brands and retailers actionable paths to engage and retain customers. The company’s approach is gaining traction and challenging the entrenched practices in grocery retail, with hopes of widespread adoption by the next year.

To learn more: Visit GroceryDealz.com (with a 'Z').
Contact: Matt Goins and Michael Waldrop’s emails are directly available on the website.