Pricena is a popular destination for UAE residents to check prices from different websites before buying something online. It is a combination of a price comparison website and an e-commerce website which makes it perfect for online buyers.
I decided to download the Pricena app and buy something I’ve been needing for quite some time now: a wireless speaker. The app downloaded pretty quickly and on opening the app, I was greeted with a few introduction slides about Pricena and its workings. On finishing that, I saw the app’s homepage with the usual ‘What are you looking for?’, categories, and popular items for that week. As I scrolled down, I saw a list of featured products and their rates along with the number of stores that was selling the product. It is pretty straightforward but I feel like they could have worked a bit more on the design. It doesn’t excite me in the way other apps do, with their sliding images and special offers but I do like the straightforward approach.
Since I knew what I wanted, I directly went to the Browse Categories option and choose my category: Audio-> Headphones and Speakers->Speakers. The app doesn’t have a slide back feature wherein you slide the screen from left to right and it goes to the previous page. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see a whole lot of other categories, so I took my time with them a bit and browsed all the options available.
Once I reached my ‘destination,’ I saw the usual list of speakers with the number of stores selling the same model. There are two kinds of views: the list and the thumbnail view. Apart from that, there are options for filter and sorting, which are much needed of course. I proceed to select the Beats Pill speaker and I can see Prices, Specs, Price Insights, and Comments out of which my favourite is Price Insights! I can also see the Share, Alert (when the price reduces), and the favourite buttons at the bottom of the screen, making my usability very easy. I can see the various options and colours that different stores are offering, along with the price, with an easy link to go to the shop directly.
Once I click Go to Shop, the best part is that it doesn’t open in Safari or any other browser; you don’t have to leave the app and go back and forth. It does have options to open in Safari but why would you when you can finish the transaction without leaving the app? An issue here, however, is that not all websites are mobile-optimized but that’s hardly the app’s fault. After this, the app’s job is pretty much done and further instructions proceed according to the shop’s website’s flowchart. But there is an easy back button that directs us directly to the app, to the page where we were, without the hassle of pressing the back button a hundred times (there is a button for that too, for people who like it).
The Pricena app is a simple one; it doesn’t focus much on design and sticks to its blue and green colour theme. It is however quite easy to navigate, provides enough options that an app needs to have, and similar to many of the e-commerce apps that are available on the market. What is different, however, is its price comparison and insights feature that is adapted from the website and integrated well with the app. Maybe a little more focus on the design aspect and this app is good to go!
Visit the site here.
