Italians dial up best food price

I've heard about this line and I think it's a great idea" said one woman, adding that everyone puts the prices they feel like putting.

"If you stroll down this market for instance, there are courgettes for two euros, 2.5 euros and 1.5 euros, you never know which ones to choose", she adds.

Another woman explains that she would be interested in using the price checking service, but only in certain situations.

"I do my shopping pretty quickly but I do try and check prices when I can. But I trust this stall holder so I wouldn't really need it here," she says.

But she was not sure she would use the service for shops.

In perspective

According to Tom Standage, business editor at The Economist magazine, markets are more efficient when you have more information.

"If you are in a supermarket and there's a price for tomatoes and that's the only piece of information you have, you've got no idea whether you should be protesting by not buying it," he says.

He explains that for supply and demand to work at its best, consumers need to be able to compare different prices from suppliers on the spot, something the texting service and others like it should help make easier.

"There are even services where you can scan a barcode in with your mobile phone and it tells you how much the internet retailers are selling a particular product for," he says.

If a price is too high, people will not buy the product and the trader will have to drop it, he adds.

With many analysts warning that high food costs are here to stay, Italian consumer are unlikely to be the only ones hoping to find the High Street's best prices.