June 20, 2017 - Shopkick

Online to offline attribution with Visa

Posted on June 20, 2017 by shopkick

Consumers seamlessly traverse channels throughout the shopping journey, demanding highly personalized, mobile-enabled, and frictionless shopping experiences. In delivering these omnichannel experiences, retailers can struggle to attribute the impact of digital marketing on physical shopping experiences.

In 2016, Deloitte reported that digital’s influence on in-store sales surpassed 50%, influencing 56% of all in-store retail sales. Yet understanding this influence on a shopper-level is still a challenge for most retailers. In fact, 67% of retail executives said their greatest obstacle in offering an omnichannel experience is tracking customer analytics across channels.

Despite roughly 90% of retail transactions still happening in stores, stores lack the real-time data and attribution that retailers are accustomed to online. Beyond just verifying store visits, retailers want to know what customers did inside their stores. Key metrics include product engagement, dwell time in-store, purchase conversion, and whether or not the sale was incremental.

Shopkick’s partnership with Visa Decision Sciences connects the dots across the entire in-store data funnel to enable true online to offline attribution analysis. Visa measures incremental sales impact through a “twinning” methodology whereby a control group of unenrolled accounts is created from the Visa cardholder base to match spend behavior of the enrolled Shopkick population.

Analysis from January 2017 shows significant and sustained incremental sales across Shopkick’s merchant partners — sales that would not have happened without Shopkick. On average, 57% of overall sales driven by Shopkick were incremental. Of that 57%, 73% of incremental sales was driven by new customer acquisition, and 23% was driven by increased spend of existing customers.

This ability to measure not just store visits, but also sales and incrementality will unlock the potential of omnichannel marketing, and drive growth for brick & mortar retail.

Webinar: CPG’s new endless aisle

Posted on June 20, 2017 by shopkick

Until now, CPG brand marketing has largely been dictated by the physical structure of an in-store aisle. Now, as customers expect to locate products anywhere and buy them at any time, grocers and brand marketers need to step up to deliver what today’s shoppers want and what tomorrow’s shoppers will demand.

In this webinar on demand, Shopkick RVP William Gonzales talks about how CPG marketers can succeed with the new Endless Aisle. He covers how to deliver highly personalized, mobile-enabled, and frictionless shopping experiences.

You’ll hear:

Research on how today’s consumers shop, and how marketers can engage them along the entire path to purchase
A success story from Barilla’s Pronto Pasta
A look at future trends in anytime, anywhere commerce

Infographic: Create fun grocery shopping experiences

Posted on June 20, 2017 by shopkick

Many grocers and CPG companies are struggling to keep up with changing consumer preferences in the shopping and consumption of food. In the past, grocers didn’t have to prioritize driving traffic because shoppers didn’t have many other options. Yet with the explosion of new products, services and grocery entrants, it has become increasingly difficult for grocers to drive traffic to stores, to drive sales of higher margin center aisle products, and to build loyalty.

Our latest infographic covers struggles and opportunities in the grocery market in recent years:

Major CPGs are also facing stalling growth: The top 25 food & beverage companies in the US drove only 3% of category growth in 2015.
Trips to and spend at traditional super markets is decreasing: In the past 5 years, shoppers made 27% less trips per week and spent 33% less.
Traditional engagement drivers aren’t working like they used to: Retailers saw a 13% annual decrease in 2016 in coupon redemption.

Get the facts about the changing grocery environment, and how fun and engaging shopping experiences can drive store visits, product sales and loyalty in our latest infographic.

View the full infographic.

4 cooking games to make meals more fun together

Posted on June 20, 2017 by shopkick

When family and friends gather in the kitchen, there are bound to be plenty of laughs and great dishes. Sometimes, though, the party could use some “oomph” and that’s where playing fun cooking games can be your secret weapon. Start planning your next get-together with a cooking theme and play one of these fun kitchen games.

Mystery Ingredient Challenge

We’re all familiar with popular cooking television shows, so imagine bringing those shows to life in your own home! Invite a few friends over for a themed night surrounding a mystery ingredient. A few days before the party assign each guest to create either an appetizer, main course, or dessert featuring the mystery ingredient. You could also focus on just one dish (like the dessert) and have everyone create their own unique and fun version.

Cooking Show Charades

Another great idea to combine cooking with a traditional group game is Cooking Show Charades. This will work best if you are familiar with popular cooking shows, but the options should be some kind of TV personality or show styles like a southern chef, homemaker, cake decorator or grill master.

Try it with specific ingredients or dishes if you’re brave! You’ll have to decide if talking is allowed, but acting out your charades pick while your dinner guests try to guess who or what you are is a recipe for a good time. Get into it and have fun!

Cooking Bingo

A great game to play with kids in the kitchen is Cooking Bingo! You’ll need to create a few bingo boards ahead of time with squares consisting of common ingredients, utensils, cooking methods, and phrases like “preheat the oven.” As you make dinner, you’ll go about your business and talk your way through the recipe while the kids keep their eyes and ears open so they can mark their bingo squares — and maybe learn a little! Laminate the bingo cards and have them use stickers, small candies, etc as markers. The first one to yell “Bingo” gets a prize – maybe the dessert of their choice!

Play Dough Chef

This one is for the younger crowd, the ones who are a bit impatient while you prep and prep — keep them busy creating their OWN dish. This works great for pizza night – supply some extra pizza dough and let them play with the stretchy, sturdy dough, making shapes, sculptures, and animals. Throw in a few cookie cutters, and they’ll be fully entertained ”cooking” alongside you. While you focus on the main course, they’ll be safe from the hot oven, sharp knives, and other kitchen hazards.

The best part is that you’ll be able to bake their finished creations, and they’ll be able to eat them! Supply some dipping sauces and turn their entertainment into a perfect pre-dinner snack to tide them over. Heck, you might even find this a hit with older kids and young adults!

Entertaining your dinner guests does not have to be expensive or elaborate by any means. By simply being creative in the kitchen and using one of these fun cooking games, you can create memories and delicious meals anytime!

6 fun apps that take the bore out of your daily routine

Posted on June 20, 2017 by shopkick

Adulting is hard. Saving money, eating healthy, planning school lunches, even shopping can feel painfully repetitive. HOWEVER, we’ve created a list of 6 fun apps to help you look forward to those mundane tasks.

Running – Zombies, Run!

image credit: Zombies, Run

For many, running is a necessary evil that allows you to indulge in a cupcake (or six — don’t judge!) without having to splurge for bigger jeans every other month. Instead of simply tolerating your daily run, look forward to it with an app called Zombies, Run! Instead of listening to your playlist again, you’ll run to the narration of a zombie apocalypse unfolding. If a zombie is on your tail, you’ll have to pick up your pace in order to escape. The app can be used whether you’re a blacktop warrior or prefer the treadmill, and you can track and share your progress. The story is engaging, and you’ll end up earning that cupcake as well as polishing your skills just in case of a real zombie attack! (Zombies, Run!, free trial version or $3.99/month, available for Apple and Android devices)

Eating Healthy – My Fitness Pal

If you’re trying to eat healthy but the thought of kale causes a spontaneous eye roll and/or gag reflex, the My Fitness Pal app can help you stay on the straight and narrow path paved with carrots and 8-ounce portions of lean meat! While it might be a stretch to say this app makes eating right fun, it does make it easier, and it’s pretty rewarding when the app gives you a thumbs up for making healthy choices or provides a gentle reminder that, perhaps, the double cheeseburger wasn’t the best decision. A paid version is available, but the free version of My Fitness Pal has what you’ll need to get started. Enter your age, weight, and basic fitness goals, and the app tells you how many calories a day you’re allowed. If you exercise, the calories you burn are added to the calories you can consume. Weekly weigh-ins help you track your progress, and you can share your workouts and weight loss milestones with your friends. (My Fitness Pal, free or $9.99/month or $49.99/year premium version, available for Apple and Android devices)

Planning School Lunches – LaLa Lunchbox

If you have a picky eater in your home, planning meals for them is probably one of the most frustrating tasks on your to-do list. With the help of a friendly looking monster, LaLa Lunchbox involves the finicky family members in the meal planning process by letting them choose the foods they want. When picky eaters get a vote, they are less likely to rebel against what’s in their lunchbox. Don’t worry about their selections being all chicken nuggets and cheese sticks. You set the choices, and then they make their picks from various parent-approved food groups. You can even create a grocery list to make it super simple to do the school lunch shopping for the week! (LaLa Lunchbox, free, available for Apple devices and on iTunes for Mac and PC)

Budgeting and Saving Money – Prosper Daily

Sometimes all it takes is a little competition to knock you out of your complacency and get serious about responsible budgeting and saving! In this case, the competition is against yourself, but it’s still motivating enough to make a difference in how you handle money. The app, formerly called BillGuard, lets you track all your accounts in one place, provides a free credit score, and lets you see exactly where your money is going. Plus, you’ll compete against last month’s budget to see if you can do better this time around! (Prosper Daily, free, available for Apple and Android devices)

Cleaning the House – BrightNest

If only there was an app that would clean your house for you. In lieu of that invention, BrightNest has fun tools to help you set goals for your home and then follow through with them. You can schedule tasks, get reminders, and even browse a massive collection of articles about how to keep your home clean and organized. Plus, it looks pretty. That’s always a plus. (BrightNest, free, available for iPhone)

Getting Up for Work – Alarmy

Perhaps “fun” isn’t the best way to describe the functionality of this app, but it will help you with one of the most difficult tasks of the workweek: getting out of bed in the morning. It’s hard to resist the urge to hit the snooze button 10 or 11 times, but if this app is part of your morning routine, you’ll have no such option! Instead, Alarmy forces you to wake up by refusing to turn off until you get out of bed to take a picture of some item in your house, complete a math problem, or perform some other task. At least the name is cute. (Alarmy, free, available for Apple and Android devices)

In the mood for downloading apps?

Check us out too while you’re at it! Not everyone views shopping as a chore, but whether you love strolling the aisles of Target or you’re a run-in and run-out kind of shopper, the Shopkick app adds rewards to your everyday shopping experiences. As you’re out and about, check the app to see which participating stores are nearby. Click on each store’s offerings in app to see how to earn kicks (our point system). In some stores, you can earn kicks for just stepping inside! Other ways to earn kicks include scanning items listed in the app, inviting friends to join, and linking your Visa or MasterCard to get kicks for what you buy. All those kicks you collect can be redeemed for gift cards to places like CVS, Target, Sephora, Starbucks, and more! (Shopkick, free, available for Apple and Android devices)

10 free summer activities for the kids

Posted on June 20, 2017 by shopkick

Ahhh, summer. You’ve been waiting for it to roll around since it ended last year. The sun is shining and everyone seems to be in a better mood — but two dreaded words from your kids can switch that mood faster than you can say summer vacation.

“I’m bored.”

What do you do to battle that summer boredom? Since every day can’t be a trip to the zoo, it’s important to find other summer activities that won’t cost you a penny. Sound good? It’s time to get on board the free summer activity train!

Park it at the Park.

Parks are a great place to spend the day with the kids. From swings to slides to sandboxes, you won’t hear “I’m bored” until you get home!

Pack a lunch and some snacks and make a day of it. Don’t forget the sunscreen! If you frequent the same park often enough chances are you and your kids will also make new friends. It’s a win-win!

Make a Splash.

Splash pads and local beaches are a great way to keep busy for free. You may hit a speed bump when it comes to parking. But, you can usually side-step any parking fees by parking on side streets and walking a bit. Get your exercise and beach time in all at once.

Sea Shell Art.

While you’re at the beach have the kids pick up some sea shells. They’re free!

Bring them home and make pictures by gluing them to cardboard, or decorate old picture frames. This is a boredom buster that can linger throughout the summer.

Take a Hike.

Hikes are a great way to get outdoors and exercise during the summer.

Find a local trail that’s not too difficult for the kids. Bring along plenty of water, snacks, and sunscreen and you’re ready to take a hike.

Don’t Pass up Free.

Check your local library for free passes to museums and other attractions. Benefactors sometimes donate free passes that you can borrow throughout the summer. It’s a great way to turn a $100 trip into a free one in just a matter of minutes!

Free Summer Jammin’.

Many local communities hold free concerts throughout the summer.

Do some digging at your local Department of Parks and Recreation to see what’s planned. Pack a picnic and make it a night of family fun for free!

Visit a Farm.

Kids and animals go together like peas and carrots. Check out local farms in your area.

See what animals are around. Many times you’re allowed to bring along food for feeding.

It’s Library Time.

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean the learning and reading stop.

Check out your local library for books as well as free events. Many libraries host craft events and free movie viewings. Read a book for free and get involved with activities that are available in your area.

Take the Time to Volunteer.

Got some free time on your hands? Want to teach your kids valuable lessons while keeping them busy? Volunteering is a great way to do this. Summer is the perfect time to take part in beach and park clean-up days. Keep your eyes and ears open for events near you.

Free Workshops.

Stores like Lowe’s hold free build and grow workshops on Saturdays. These events teach kids the skills to make so many projects. Hammer out boredom during these workshops! Be sure to sign up in advance. While you’re there, earn your kicks with our Shopkick app!

Who said summer fun had to break the bank? There are plenty of free activities for kids that will leave you wondering what took you so long to find them!