Menards®

Review by eFreeware

The Menards app is the official mobile companion from Menard, Inc., the retailer behind the Menards home improvement stores. It is a free shopping app, and it has been available since March 2011, which makes it one of the longer-running store apps on Android. It has over 1 million installs and a 4.8 average from more than 76,000 ratings.

The main reason to consider it is convenience for people who already shop at Menards. Instead of juggling a paper flyer, a handwritten project list and a store card statement, you get those in one place on your phone. It is not a general-purpose shopping app for every retailer; it is built around the Menards store experience, and that focus is what makes it useful if you are a regular customer.

I'd expect most people to install it for one or two specific jobs: checking the weekly ad before a trip, or keeping a project list that does not get lost. Everything else in the app supports those habits, from barcode scanning in the aisle to order tracking after you buy.

Augmented reality as the headline feature

The feature the developer leads with is augmented reality. The idea is that you can see a range of Menards products placed in your own home before you commit to buying them. That matters for things like lighting, fixtures and decor, where the photo on a shelf tag rarely tells you how an item will sit against your walls and furniture.

The app also lets you save and compare the options you try, so you can build a shortlist rather than deciding on the spot. I like that this is a planning tool rather than a gimmick: it is pitched at the moment before purchase, when you are still weighing choices. If you are redecorating a room and cannot picture how a piece will fit the existing look, this is the part of the app to try first.

The developer calls augmented reality an innovative feature, and it is certainly the most distinctive thing here compared with a plain store app. Whether it earns a place in your routine depends on the kind of projects you take on. For paint colors, lighting and similar decor decisions, a preview on your own wall is more useful than a catalog photo.

Weekly ads, lists and the rest of the toolbox

Menards flyers are handled well: you view them full-screen and browse the deals, much like flipping through the specials insert in a newspaper. That is the feature I would expect to get the most use, since it replaces the paper flyer you would otherwise carry into the store.

Around that sit several organizational tools. My Lists keeps project, wish and shopping lists in one place, and you can create and edit them as plans change. The Gift Registry Center lets you find or manage registries, which is handy if you are buying for a wedding, a new home or a baby and want to check what is still needed. An order tracker follows the shipping progress of both store and online orders, so you are not guessing when something will arrive.

There are also product calculators that estimate how much of a given product a project will need, which is the kind of thing that saves a second trip when you are buying in bulk. Ray's List gathers markdowns on clearance goods, display models, damaged items and unclaimed special orders. And a library of how-to videos covers a range of projects if you want guidance before you start.

The account side rounds things out. In the Credit Center you can apply for, view or make payments on a Menards Big Card account, and you can check gift card balances quickly. Barcode scanning pulls up product details fast while you are standing in the aisle, and store details help you plan a trip to any Menards location.

What the app asks of you

The app is free to download and has no ads or in-app purchases. That is a clean setup for a retailer app: nothing here is trying to sell you a subscription on top of your shopping.

The requirements are mostly practical rather than financial. Arranging a Menards Big Card, checking gift card balances and tracking orders all depend on having the relevant account or order in the first place, so those sections are for existing customers rather than browsers. The developer describes push notifications as covering order statuses, new weekly flyers, flash sales and events both online and in-store; if you enable them, expect that stream of updates.

The augmented reality feature is the one part I would treat as situational. It is built for visualizing products in your home, so it is most relevant when you are choosing items for a room rather than picking up lumber and fasteners. The rest of the app, from the flyer to the calculators, works for ordinary store trips.

Getting the most from it on a store run

A sensible routine starts before you leave the house. Check the flyers, note what is actually on offer, and build a shopping list in My Lists around the project you have in mind. If the job involves materials you buy by quantity, run the product calculators so you have a rough figure rather than an estimate made in the aisle.

In the store, barcode scanning is the quickest way to confirm details on a product you have picked up, and Ray's List is worth a look if you are flexible about condition or finish, since it gathers unclaimed special orders, display models and clearance items in one place. If the project is unfamiliar, the how-to videos are there for a reason; watching one before you buy can change what goes on the list.

After the trip, the order tracker and notifications take over, keeping you informed about shipping and new flyers without you having to check back manually. For gifts, the registry center handles the finding and managing side. None of this is complicated, but using the pieces together is what turns the app from a flyer viewer into something you keep installed.

A companion for regular Menards shoppers

The Menards app is a focused store companion, and it is best judged that way. If Menards is where you buy materials and supplies, it gathers the flyer, your lists, your account, order tracking and a set of planning tools into one place, and it does so without ads or purchases getting in the way. The augmented reality preview and the product calculators are the parts that go beyond what a paper flyer can do.

The trade-off is that its usefulness tracks how often you shop there. Someone who visits occasionally may find the flyers and store details enough; someone in the middle of a remodel will get more from the lists, calculators and previews. The 4.8 average across more than 76,000 ratings suggests the people using it are satisfied with what it covers.

My recommendation is straightforward: install it if Menards is a regular stop and you want the deals, your lists and your account details on your phone. Approach the augmented reality feature as a tool for decor and fixture decisions, and let the flyer, calculators and how-to videos handle the rest.

What's new in version 11.21.0.180

Minor Bug fixes and performance improvements.