Author: shopkick

Learn how to spend less money as a student in college with shopping apps

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I always hear people talk about how college is a learning experience that extends well beyond the lecture halls and libraries. Well, I can definitely attest to that! Since I’ve been in college, I’ve learned so much—how to manage my time, how to be more responsible, and my most recent lesson: how to spend less money as a student. 

You see, for the first time in my life, I’m completely responsible for my everyday essentials. And while I do love those random care packages from my mom filled with my favorite goodies, I know that I can’t expect them forever. I know that, eventually, I’ll have to learn to survive on a super tight budget like a real adult. 

So, here’s my advice if you want to learn how to spend less money as a student. And, the best part, you can do it right from your phone! 

How to Spend Less Money as a Student in College

There are so many ways to spend less money as a student in college. You could spend more time at the library, volunteer for community service when you would otherwise be going out spending money, and learn to love instant ramen noodles. I’ve tried all of these but I would still find myself going over budget when I went to the store. Thankfully, I discovered a way to spend less by downloading a shopping rewards app. 

Choose a Shopping Rewards App

While there are many types of apps that reward you for shopping, the best type can be used, without hassle, at a variety of stores. It should also make shopping easier and enjoyable; that way, you can incorporate it into your routine trips. You don’t want to dread having to use the app like you would a Chemistry 101 exam during the first month of the semester. So, if you make sure the shopping app you select is actually fun, you’ll always be sure to use it when you go out shopping for anything, from food to things for your dorm room like storage crates, desk lights, and rugs.

Use the Shopping Rewards App Frequently

how to spend less money as a studentWhen exploring the available options of shopping rewards app out there, I found Shopkick to work the best for me. How it works is simple. Once you download Shopkick, you have access to many of the most popular sites for shopping for the necessities—groceries, clothing, electronics, and more. You can shop directly through the app or visit participating stores to make purchases. The more you use Shopkick to do things like watch promotional videos, visit websites and physical stores, locate products in the store, and make purchases, the more rewards points you earn which are called “kicks.” You can also earn kicks for making purchases online through the app or with a Visa or MasterCard linked to your Shopkick account.     

Redeem Rewards from Frequent Use

Once you’ve earned enough kicks, you can trade those kicks in for gift cards to many of your favorite stores. Now, here comes to the best part: you can turn around and use those gifts to purchase the items you need in college—spending less money! 

Use Shopkick to Spend Less Money as a Student

What I like most about Shopkick, though, is that it’s a blast to use. Basically, Shopkick turns every trip to the store into a fun scavenger hunt for kicks. Shopping can sometimes be a hassle, especially when you have a million assignments due for a class, but with Shopkick, you’ll find yourself actually looking forward to going shopping. On top of that, you can use Shopkick for both your online and in-person shopping, which is especially convenient for those busy weeks when you don’t have time to make it to the store. Shopkick has definitely made it so much easier to spend less money as a student in college.

What I like most about Shopkick, though, is that it’s a blast to use.

So, there you have it, a brief cram session about how to spend less money as a student in college. I know you might not remember everything we discussed here today. But, if you remember one thing, I hope you remember to use Shopkick. In my opinion, there’s no better choice for earning rewards to spend less money when you go out shopping. 

It’s time to pass your test and learn to spend less money as a student in college! Shopkick makes shopping a rewarding experience! Download the app today and start earning your kicks today! 

Image courtesy of Dmytro Zinkevych

How to save money on groceries without coupons

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My friend Lisa has always had a deep appreciation for all things retro. She loves to go shopping at thrift stores for retro clothes—from 1950s dresses to leg warmers from the ‘80s. She has beautiful retro magazine covers framed and hanging all over her house. In fact, she even saves money on her groceries in a retro way: coupon clipping. When I came to her about wanting to save money on groceries, she recommended I give it a try. 

We’ve been friends for a long time so, of course, I trust her judgment; I decided to give coupon clipping a try. Man, was it a fail! I didn’t make it a full two weeks before I was completely over it; it took too much time and effort—sifting through newspapers and sales papers for the best deal and physically cutting them out to place in a binder, just to get to the store to have to spend even more time searching for the products on sale. I realized that I needed to learn how to save money on groceries without coupons. Then I remembered something I read online about a shopping rewards app for groceries and how much I could save without having to do the work of couponing.  

I shared the article with Lisa and while she was a bit hesitant to give up on her strategy, she said she’d give mine a try to return the favor. After about a month, Lisa told me how much time and money she’d saved by using a shopping rewards app instead of clipping coupons. 

If you’re tired of spending countless hours clipping coupons, you’ll definitely want to read on to learn how to save money on groceries without coupons.    

Say Good-Bye to Coupons and Hello to Shopping Rewards Apps

I definitely understood Lisa’s fondness for clipping coupons. She said—and I agreed—that it helps you relax and organize your shopping plan; I’ll give her that. But, in the end, shopping rewards apps were just so much more convenient. We all know how clipping coupons work, and, in fact, I’m sure many of us grew up doing it with our parents. Some of you, however, might be less familiar with shopping rewards apps, so I’ll explain how they work.

What Are Shopping Rewards Apps?

how to save money on groceries without couponsThere are many types of shopping rewards apps out there but the best ones allow you to earn points for things you do when you go out shopping already, things like walking into stores, scanning barcodes of products, and, of course, making purchases. The more activities you do or the more you spend, the more potential you have to earn points. Once you’ve earned enough points, you’re typically able to trade them in for some sort of reward like cash back or gift cards to use towards future purchases. 

Like coupons, shopping rewards apps can’t help you save money if you don’t use them. Having a shopping app that is fun to use makes you less likely to forget it when you go out to the store, and that means you’ll have the chance to earn points towards savings each and every time you shop! 

How to Save Money on Groceries Without Coupons 

My favorite shopping rewards app is called Shopkick; and, how it works is pretty simple. Shopkick gives you points—which it calls kicks—for things you do whenever you shop for groceries, things like ordering groceries online, walking into stores, scanning barcodes on items, and making purchases in-store. Once you get your kicks, you can then trade them in later for gift cards that you can use to purchase even more groceries—no coupons required. And, if I forget to open the app while shopping, no worries. By linking my Visa or MasterCard to my Shopkick account and making purchases, I can still earn kicks—maximizing my credit card rewards, too!   

There’s a lot to love about Shopkick. For example, if you’re ever in need of meal inspiration, there are tons of recipes featured within the “Discover” tab of the app, making planning meals a breeze! Another one of my favorite things about Shopkick is the way I can use it to order my groceries online with Walmart and receive 900 kicks! I can open the app and shop directly on Walmart’s site and have my groceries delivered or I can pick them up. It’s the perfect way to save money while also earning rewards points towards gift cards to use on future purchases. Shopkick even has a cool feature that gives me ideas for recipes, helping me plan ahead. Many of the recipes feature products that allow me to earn kicks towards gift cards when purchased together. Shopkick has definitely turned into my shopping companion; I take it everywhere I go!

Shopkick has definitely turned into my shopping companion; I take it everywhere I go!

Speaking of shopping companions, I ran into Lisa last week while out shopping for groceries and it was so funny because we were both scanning the same product to earn kicks on Shopkick. We looked up at each other and laughed. We were saving money and having fun while doing it! Shopkick has literally turned every trip out to the store into a fun scavenger hunt for points. It’s so fun to use and if you’re a competitive shopper like me, you’ll want to use it as much as possible to boost your savings.  

So there you have it, a way to save money on your groceries without coupons. And, Lisa and I both agree that when it comes to shopping, there’s no better way to do it than by using Shopkick!

It’s time to let go of the old way of shopping for the best deals and start earning kicks! Shopkick makes shopping a rewarding experience, and it’s the perfect way to save money on groceries without coupons. Download the app today and start getting your kicks instantly! 

Image courtesy of mangostock

3 effective experiential marketing ideas for building brand awareness

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3 effective experiential marketing ideas for building brand awareness

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There are many experiential marketing ideas that can be used in retail but the most effective will be those that engage customers while also increasing brand awareness. By leveraging experiential marketing, you can encourage shoppers to participate in a branded experience worth remembering, sharing, and evangelizing. Experiential retail is often characterized as influencing consumer behavior through fun and immersive retail spaces, which often deliver impressive results. In fact, in one survey, 93% of consumers claimed that live events had a larger influence on them than TV ads. 

With many companies already recognizing the effectiveness of experiential marketing, brands and retailers should tailor their marketing efforts to build awareness and provide consumers with a shopping experience worth remembering. 

Build Brand Awareness with these 3 Effective Experiential Marketing Ideas

1. Event Marketing

Event marketing and experiential marketing go hand in hand. Most events can be considered a form of experiential marketing as they provide an immersive experience that guests plan to attend; they keep brands top-of-mind through promotion as the set date and time approaches; and they leave a lasting impression on attendees once they’ve taken place. In one survey, 72% of consumers said they positively view brands that provide quality event experiences. A larger percentage of surveyed consumers (74%) say engaging with branded event marketing experiences makes them more likely to buy the products being promoted.

When planning an event to build awareness, brands and retailers must decide exactly how they want consumers to remember the experience. Brands and retailers should also take into account that this may be the first interaction a consumer has with them, and first impressions matter. 

Here are four types of event marketing to consider:  

  • Lifestyle events: You can leave a lasting impression on your customer base by creating events that align with their values and interests. Red Bull hosts a range of events worldwide, from sports activities to DJ and dance competitions. They even sponsored a world record-breaking freefall, which also set a record for the highest viewing traffic of any live event streamed on YouTube at the time—8 million people. For its efforts, the brand has become synonymous with a young, active lifestyle. 
  • Product showcases: You can draw loyal customers and new faces with an engaging product demo. Take, for example, the annual LEGO Americana Roadshow that crisscrosses the country displaying large replicas of historical sites and other objects made from LEGO blocks. The events are accompanied by supervised play areas, to the delight of parents and educators. The malls that host the event also benefit from a boost in attendance as it draws thousands of participants.
  • Community wellbeing: Brands and retailers can gain strong customer affinity by giving the customer something in exchange for their loyalty. Nike has residents in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles showing up early in the morning and after work to mobility classes and performance lounges in connection with their digital-to-live Project Fearless training program, which aims to reduce running-related injuries in urban environments. 
  • Corporate citizenship: Aligning yourself with your customers’ values goes a long way in building loyalty. That’s why sponsorship is a favored strategy for some of the country’s biggest corporations. Your support for a clean energy conference, a charity fundraiser, the next exhibition at a local fine arts museum or a performance by a music group allows you to target niche markets, receive media exposure, and differentiate your brand from others.

2. An Enhanced In-Store Experience

Experiential shopping can be fun, engaging, and exciting for consumers. It can provide immediate satisfaction and meaningful in-person interaction that online shopping doesn’t deliver. However, in-store experiential marketing doesn’t always lead to a shopper making a purchase at that moment; sometimes it sets the stage for a future, more organic response to the experience.

Mixed-Use Retail

We’ve come a long way since cafes in bookstores were newsworthy, but mixed-use retail is still an emerging trend. When transforming a retail space into a community gathering space, where visitors don’t feel pressured to spend money, retailers can inspire visitors to reciprocate in a way that feels natural and organic. Retailers opening stores in Las Vegas’s 200,000-square-foot AREA15 this year will share the space with a permanent art exhibit, a steampunk AR experience, and an ax-throwing lounge. “Storytelling is crucial,” said AREA15 CEO Winston Fisher. “It conjures emotions and memories and has the potential to bring you back again and again. Also, storytelling must be experienced in real life—it is nothing that can be authentically replicated online.”

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

AR and VR can make the shopping experience more engaging. Sometimes this is as simple as using screens to inform shoppers about your products. But you can also use AR and VR to create an immersive retail experience. Augmented reality doesn’t always mean digital technology. AREA15 CEO Fisher suggests creating a cold room where coats can be tried on in realistic surroundings. L’Occitane en Provence on Fifth Avenue in New York City features a “rain-shower sink” where shoppers can test their products. The French-based retailer isn’t backing away from hi-tech, though. At the same store, shoppers can experience a 360-degree VR-powered hot air balloon ride over France while simultaneously receiving a free hand massage.

Showrooming

Showrooming is the practice of examining merchandise in a traditional brick-and-mortar retail store—or other offline setting—and then buying it online. This concept of experiential marketing can also involve the use of mixed-use retail and AR and VR experiences. There is little difference between checking out a Tesla in a showroom in a mall and kicking the tires at a dealership, where chances are you would be more likely to order a customized model for later delivery. An extravagant display of your product can make your store a destination for new shoppers and it may encourage browsers to purchase other items while visiting. According to Neilsen, nearly 75% of food shoppers have used a physical store to “showroom” before purchasing online.

3. Digital Technology

Experiential marketing is unequivocally offline, but social media plays an important role before, during, and after an experiential event. In 2016, 98% of participants at events or experiences created and shared digital or social content; 49% of that content was video. The majority of the content was posted on Facebook. There is a symbiotic relationship between social media and experiential events, as the user-generated social content created at these events is then shared and reshared, guiding marketers when designing future events.

  • Create a buzz. Social media is an effective way to publicize your experiential marketing event. You can use incentives to encourage social media engagement in efforts to have your event trend online. The more hashtags and posts generated form your event, the more likely others are to want to check out what’s buzzing. Content from past events, if there were any, can also make great promotional material. 
  • Create a pop-up. Give your social media audience an exclusive, but highly sharable, scoop on a pop-up store or other “surprise” event. That exclusivity and the limited window of time inherent in the pop-up harness fear of missing out (FOMO). The experience can be easily gamified or linked to customer values. Busch beer tapped its customers’ sense of adventure in the summer of 2019 by creating a “Pop Up Schop” deep inside a U.S. national forest. Beer lovers followed clues provided on Twitter to a woodsy location and they won a lifetime supply of free beer. At the same time, the brewery raised money for the National Forest Foundation.
  • Leverage an app. A September 2018 survey from HRC Retail Advisory found that 59% of U.S. smartphone shoppers used their device in-store to compare costs or search for deals and coupons. Shoppers appreciate the benefit of having a mobile app to turn to that features information about a variety of brands and retailers; Shopkick offers this solution. Shopkick is an innovative mobile shopping rewards app that brands and retailers can partner with to reach an already-loyal userbase of shoppers. Once shoppers download the Shopkick app, it travels with them via their mobile device, sending push notifications that raise brand awareness and drive traffic. The app enables shoppers to interact with brands from any location and incentivizes engagement while they’re already in a shopping mindset. And when a shopper enters a participating store, interacts with a featured product at shelf, or makes a purchase, they are rewarded—which makes for a memorable retail experience. 
Effective experiential marketing ideas for building brand awareness are diverse and incorporate both physical and digital experiences. It is these types of experiences that create lasting memories and keep brands and retailers top-of-mind when it matters most.   
Shopkick is a rewards app that brands and retailers can incorporate into their experiential marketing strategy to build awareness and drive sales. Consider the success of our partners and contact us for more information.

3 ways to spend less money on groceries when you’re shopping on a budget

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When I’m planning my budget for each month I always look back over the previous month to see if there are any areas to improve. And of course, I always seem to go over my allotted budget for groceries; and I know exactly why that happens—my lack of planning. Then, once I’ve spent too much, I have to find ways to make my budget stretch in other areas. 

The only advantage of having to stretch my budget for the past few months is that I’ve been thinking of ways to spend less money on groceries. And, luckily for all of you, I’ve found a few ways that I’m happy to share so that you won’t have to make the same mistakes. 

How to Spend Less Money on Groceries

Plan Your List in Advance

When I was a kid, my parents would always say: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If I’m being honest, at the time I didn’t think much of it, but now that I’m an adult, I find it invaluable. By keeping that saying in mind, I’ve figured out how I can spend less money on groceries. When I go to the store without a list, I end up buying items that don’t get used until months later. If I plan my shopping list in advance, even by meal sometimes, I only use the money that I planned to spend on groceries that month. Not only does this way of grocery shopping help me save money, but it also reduces the amount of food that goes to waste because of my impulsive buying. I’ve gotten so good at planning ahead, that I’ve even learned how to plan my meals around the items that are on sale. If there’s a discount on pasta sauce and noodles when purchased together, you can bet we’re having spaghetti!  

Order Groceries Online

how to spend less money on groceriesI have to be honest. When some of my favorite stores like Walmart began offering online grocery ordering, I was a bit reluctant. I’m the shopper who likes to pick up and look through the cartons of strawberries to make sure the ones at the bottom aren’t too soft and moldy. The thought of someone else just grabbing my groceries for me kind of weirded me out. “What if they don’t pick the brand I like?” “What if they don’t reach from the back and grab the milk with the furthest expiration date?” But, if I’m also being honest, because I finalize my grocery order online, I don’t have to worry about getting distracted and grabbing items that aren’t on my list. I even like that I can see my cart while shopping so if I feel something increases the bill by too much, I save it for next month.    

By ordering my groceries online, I’m able to spend less money on groceries and I can do it from the comfort of my own home. I don’t even have to leave my house when I choose the delivery option—saving money on groceries and gas!

By ordering my groceries online, I’m able to spend less money on groceries and I can do it from the comfort of my own home.

Download Shopkick

This last way to spend less money on groceries is actually my favorite because I can use it with the ways I mentioned above. This way is a shopping rewards app called Shopkick. The way that Shopkick works is simple. It gives you points—which it calls kicks—for things you do whenever you shop for groceries, things like ordering groceries online, walking into stores, scanning barcodes on items, and making purchases in-store. Once you get your kicks, you can then trade them in later for gift cards that you can use to purchase even more groceries, spending less money from your budget.

There’s a lot to love about Shopkick. However, one of my favorite things about it is the way I can use it to order my groceries online with Walmart and receive 900 kicks! I can open the app and shop directly on Walmart’s site and have my groceries delivered or I can pick them up. It’s the perfect way to spend less money while also earning rewards points towards gift cards to use on future purchases. Shopkick even has a cool feature that gives me ideas for recipes, helping me plan ahead. Many of the recipes feature products that allow me to earn kicks towards gift cards when purchased together.  

These three ways to spend less money on groceries have definitely been invaluable for me and my budget. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who wouldn’t want to spend less money on groceries, which is why I try to tell everyone I know about these methods. I want to spread the savings around as much as I can!

It’s time to spend less money on groceries while earning kicks! Shopkick makes shopping a rewarding experience. Download the app today so you can get in on the savings! 

Image courtesy of wavebreakmedia

Why personalization in retail is a must when growing engagement

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The average American is exposed to an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day. At some point, it’s intrinsic to subconsciously screen for messages that spark a personal interest and filter out those that aren’t relatable.

Personalization is the key to locating the right demographic for particular products and brand messaging—and yet, so many brands are woefully inadequate at aggregating data and deriving meaning from it all. That’s actually good news if you’re a retailer or marketer reading this, as committing to a personalization strategy can give you a leg up on the competition. In fact, there are several reasons why personalization in retail is a must for engaging new and existing customers.

What Does Personalization in Retail Look Like in 2020?

Personalization in retail is about delivering a tailored, individual experience to a shopper based on demographics and past behavior. Personalization varies greatly in practice, but examples in the retail sphere may include:

  • Disney: Customers can book a trip on the Disney website, download the app to plan out trip details, and use the physical Magic Band to connect their credit card, room key, photo gallery, Fast Passes, meal plan, parking ticket, and more.
  • Starbucks: When customers download the Starbucks app, they have access to a loyalty rewards program. They can use the app to order and pay for coffee, download the music that’s playing over the café’s speakers, and redeem free offers.
  • Sephora: Customers can access their Sephora account from a mobile device while in-store to schedule a makeover, discover promotions, virtually try on makeup, add products to a wish list, and purchase via the app to pick up in-store. Sephora associates have access to customer purchase histories to make personalized recommendations.
  • Nordstrom: Customers can buy online and pickup in-store. Personal stylists can visit customers at home to provide them with VIP treatment. Customers can also benefit from alterations and express returns. Homepage personalization with suggested items and trending location-based digital catalogs are just one way Nordstrom goes the extra mile for their customers.
  • Amazon: When shoppers add an item to their cart while shopping on Amazon.com, the item also pops up in their cart within the Amazon mobile app. When customers make a purchase, they are invited to share product details on social media, and will subsequently find targeted ads on Facebook related to the purchases they’ve made. Shoppers can easily view complementary items that other customers purchased with the item they’re currently browsing, as well as similar products and tailored recommendations.  

Why Personalization in Retail is a Must to Grow Engagement

1. Brands and retailers can’t capture general attention without personalization.

In order to engage consumers, you must first capture and hang onto their attention. Studies show that brands and retailers don’t have a fighting chance without more personalized marketing efforts: 

  • 91% of consumers unsubscribe from emails
  • 44% say they simply throw out direct mailings
  • 60% of smartphone users opt-out of mobile push notifications 

The end result of this disengagement is over $280 billion left sitting in virtual shopping carts each year. In a 2018 study, 55% of marketers said the top benefit of personalization was increased visitor engagement and improved customer experience.

2. Personalization is still a differentiating factor.

benefits of personalization in retailPersonalization plays a major role in consumer purchase decisions. In fact, 91% of consumers in one study said they’re more likely to purchase from retailers who know their names, purchase history, and what to recommend. In another study, more than half of shoppers (52%) said they would change brands if a company doesn’t offer personalized communication. Many shoppers have claimed to have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that provided a personalized service or experience. And many expect consistent experiences across multiple devices and believe it is important that retail brands recognize them across all channels. Yet, only 10% of companies rank themselves “highly effective” at personalization; surveys have confirmed that retailers are missing the mark: 

  • Half of the surveyed shoppers “never” or “rarely” discover valuable in-store content. 
  • Two-thirds of shoppers say they are “frustrated” by these impersonal experiences. 
  • Another third of shoppers think personal assistance is missing from the in-store experience.

3. Engagement from personalization efforts pays dividends.

There’s no refuting the evidence that presents itself study after study, confirming the effectiveness of engaging consumers with personalization techniques:

  • Personalized emails drive a six times higher transaction rate compared to generic emails.
  • Forty-eight percent of consumers say they buy more when marketers take their interests into account.
  • Personalization delivers a five to eight times return-on-investment of marketing spend.
  • Personalization can cut the cost of customer acquisition in half.
  • Personalization increases the effectiveness of marketing spend by 30%.
  • Increasing personalization efforts has increased consumer spending by up to 500%.
  • Eighty-eight percent of U.S. marketers have seen measurable improvements from personalization.
  • Most marketers report over a 10% lift in marketing improvement after personalizing.

4. Personalization and marketing efforts are ultimately about lifetime value.

The end goal of any marketing strategy used to be “to convert a browser into a buyer.” However, this sort of brand interaction is transactional and fleeting. Brands and retailers should aim to establish long-term relationships with customers.

The end goal of any marketing strategy used to be “to convert a browser into a buyer.”

Delivering exceptional, personalized service based on consumer profiles empowers employees to provide the sort of relevant experiences shoppers desire. Thanking customers after a purchase, educating buyers about getting full utility out of their purchases, and helping them take the next step to buy again is simply good old-fashioned customer service. With intelligent recommendations and capitalized cross-selling opportunities, shoppers not only put more in their carts but walk away with a better brand impression. They are more likely to tell friends and family what a great experience they had, and return for more shopping experiences over the course of their lifetime. 

In this type of relationship, brands and retailers don’t have to continuously spend resources on acquisition, persuading a shopper to purchase, or discounts and coupons that take away from their value. Once a shopper has moved beyond initial engagement, feeling deeply valued and developing brand affinity, the relationship can really blossom. The more shoppers with high lifetime value, the more successful a company will be year after year, as guaranteed sales return.

5. Personalization is a way to survive.

As Retail Dive put it: “Personalization is the key to keeping your customers engaged—and spending money. Retailers that get it right stand to gain a lot. Those who don’t, lose.”

Casualties of the 2018 retail apocalypse included major players like Toys R Us, Sears, and Kmart. These established brands failed to meet consumer demands for digital experiences and personalization. As a result, they had to close their doors. The trend didn’t stop in 2019 as stores like Gymboree, Payless Shoes, DressBarn, and AC Moore did the same.

Brands and retailers can’t rely on name recognition and years of service alone. With small businesses, pop-up shops, and eCommerce players all vying for market share, the modern enterprise has to be one step ahead of customer expectations to provide what people don’t even know they want—yet.

Personalize the Experience and Engage Customers with Shopkick

Personalization technology doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to implement. Given that people take their smartphones with them virtually everywhere, the mobile platform proves extremely effective at reaching shoppers during the crucial moments on the path to purchase. So, what better way to reach customers than with a mobile app that incentivizes shopping behaviors?

Shopkick, an innovative shopping rewards app, offers brands and retailers a way to engage with an already-loyal user base of customers who eagerly shop at partnering stores, watch branded in-app videos, locate products in-aisle, and make purchases to earn points (“kicks”) toward gift cards. Shopkick greets shoppers by name when they enter a partnering retailer, and helps guide them to products throughout the store. After racking up enough kicks, Shopkick adds a personal touch by allowing users to redeem gift cards to their favorite stores.

Brands and retailers looking to grow customer engagement should consider how effective Shopkick can be for personalizing a shopper’s experience. Shopkick offers users a personalized experience throughout the entire purchase journey—from trial and consideration to purchase.

Ready to incorporate personalization in your retail strategy? Read our success stories and contact Shopkick to learn how to become one of our partners.

Image courtesy of Robert Kneschke

3 ways to make money while shopping with friends

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When you’re as busy as I am, it can be hard to find time to spend with friends. Work, family, and just about everything else tends to get in the way. Thankfully, I’ve found a great way to spend more time with my friends while also running a few errands; and it’s definitely paid off. You see, we’ve always been the group of friends who bond over shopping. When we were teenagers, we would go to the mall and help each other pick out outfits. Now that we’re older, with families of our own, we don’t have much time to spend shopping. And, when we do find the time, we have to make our budgets stretch because we have more responsibilities; adulting, bleh. 

Recently, I’ve been looking into ways to make money while shopping with my friends and I was surprised to find that there are so many opportunities out there. Some of them allow you to earn money and others allow you to earn gift cards that are just as good as cash if you ask me. Of course, I couldn’t jump on every opportunity, so I decided to choose three that would fit into our busy schedules and also be a fun way to stretch our budgets. 

If you’re looking for ways to make money while shopping with your friends, you should check out what I discovered. 

How to Make Money While Shopping With Friends

how to make money while shoppingOne of the best pieces of advice I have for anyone who wants to make money while shopping with friends is that you should choose the best option that works for you. You don’t want to make the mistake and choose a way that takes the fun out of shopping, ruining your favorite hobby. Here are the three ways that I found to be both fun and rewarding. 

Become a Mystery Shopper

One way to make money while shopping with friends is by signing up to become a mystery shopper. A mystery shopper is someone who goes shopping at a store and evaluates the shopping experience, providing feedback on how to improve and make that experience better. This has been a concept for a long time, and becoming one now is a great way to make money while shopping with your friends.

There are a number of different ways to become a mystery shopper. You can find lists of mystery shopper opportunities online, but the fact is these opportunities change often. That’s why I suggest regularly conducting your own research. It takes a little bit of extra work, but it’s worth it to find the best mystery shopper opportunities available. One thing to note, though, is that you might not always be able to visit your favorite stores which may take the fun out of shopping. 

Shop for Others

Another great way to make money while shopping with friends is to work for services that make it possible for you to shop for others, and, obviously, get paid to do it. Like being a mystery shopper, there are different ways to do this. My personal favorite is a service called Instacart, which I also use as a customer. 

The way Instacart works is simple. It’s an app that people who are too busy to shop for themselves can download, order groceries, and have someone else do the actual shopping in-store and deliver it to their doorstep. I’ve definitely used this service as a customer before when I found that I was even too busy to shop. (I know, right? No one should ever be too busy to shop!) Now, I’ve been using it with my friends to shop for others and make money while doing it! It’s a great way to spend time with my friends and make extra money to support my own shopping habits.

Use Shopkick

This last way to make money while shopping with friends is actually my favorite. It’s an app called Shopkick, and the way it works is pretty straightforward. Shopkick is a shopping rewards app that gives you points—which it calls kicks—for things you do while you’re out shopping already. With Shopkick, you can earn kicks by doing things like walking into stores, scanning barcodes, and making purchases. You can then trade your kicks in for gift cards, which are just as good as cash!

The potential to earn rewards while shopping at my favorite stores is one of the things that makes Shopkick my favorite. I also like that you can combine Shopkick with both of the other ways to make money shopping with your friends that I mentioned before. Shopkick also brings an added layer of fun to shopping by turning every trip to the store into a fun scavenger hunt for points. And, I can’t forget to mention that Shopkick is so convenient that I can use it to shop online on my phone while chatting over coffee with my friends. 

The potential to earn rewards while shopping at my favorite stores is one of the things that makes Shopkick my favorite.

So, there you have it—three ways to make money while shopping with your friends. There’s nothing better than shopping, but the simple truth is that it can sometimes get a little expensive. That’s where these ways come in handy.

If you’re looking for a fun way to make money while shopping with friends, I highly recommend you download Shopkick. It’s made going shopping with my friends even more fun while at the same time helping me earn kicks toward gift cards to do even more shopping. 

It’s time to get your kicks! Shopkick is easily the best way to make money while shopping with friends. Download the app today and start to get your kicks instantly! 

Image courtesy of MaxStrogiy

How to maximize credit card rewards with Shopkick

Posted on by shopkick

I’m usually the one in my group of friends with all the hacks when it comes to shopping. But after meeting up with my girls for lunch last week, I found out that I’ve yet to master the art of shopping. 

Somehow we got on the topic of credit cards and I told them that while I do have them, I’d always preferred using cash or my debit card to shop because I didn’t want to have to worry about paying it off later. They immediately told me that I was doing it all wrong and how much I was missing out. Since I love to shop, they told me how often I could be earning points towards cashback, gift cards, and frequent flier miles just for using a credit card to shop. I’m always down for getting the most out of my shopping trips, so I took their advice. And let me tell you, I’m definitely glad I did. I even found out how to maximize credit card rewards by using my favorite shopping app.

If you’ve been in the dark about credit card rewards like I have, you’ll definitely want to pay close attention while I tell you just how you can maximize credit card rewards by using a mobile shopping app.  

What I’ve Learned About Credit Card Rewards 

how to maximize credit card rewardsOne thing I’ve learned about maximizing credit card rewards is that there are so many different ways to do it; you just have to choose the method that works for you. For instance, I have a friend who travels regularly for work. She uses her own credit card to pay for her flights, hotels, and rental cars, and then she has her job reimburse her. This might seem like a lot, but she swears by it—insisting that this way, she gets to keep all the rewards that she earns from the initial purchases.

I don’t travel for work—and maybe you don’t either—and that’s okay because there are plenty of other opportunities to maximize your credit card rewards by making everyday purchases. One way that I’ve found that works for me is by using a shopping rewards apps—an app that I’ve downloaded and linked my credit card to in an effort to really maximize my rewards. 

The Best Type of Shopping App to Maximize Rewards

If you have never before heard of shopping rewards apps, that’s okay. It wasn’t too long ago that I hadn’t either, and now I consider myself a bit of an expert on how to combine shopping rewards apps with my credit card to really maximize my reward-earning potential. The first step is to understand what shopping rewards apps are available to you and how they work. There are several different kinds, ranging from apps that reward you for shopping at certain stores to apps that reward you for particular types of purchases such as gas or coffee.

The best type of shopping rewards app to link with your credit card is one you can use at several different stores—both online stores and physical locations. You can obviously use your credit card almost anywhere, so you’ll want to get a shopping rewards app that is equally as versatile; otherwise, you’ll be as my friends say, “missing out.” 

Maximize Credit Card Rewards with Shopkick

My favorite shopping rewards app is Shopkick. I’ve been using Shopkick for years but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to link my credit card with the app. You see, before, I was using Shopkick any time I went out shopping for the essentials because it’s so easy to use that I’ve incorporated it into my routine. Before leaving the house, I would look up nearby stores that were offering rewards points (also called “kicks” in the app). Some of these stores offer kicks for simply walking in. Then, I would open the app to see what products I could locate to scan for even more kicks; it’s like a fun scavenger hunt for rewards. Once I’d earned enough kicks, I could trade them in for a gift card to do even more shopping! 

Now that I’ve linked my credit card, I have the chance to earn even more rewards. The credit card that I use already gives me a percentage back on purchases, so by linking it with Shopkick, I’m rewarded for using the app too! Once I discovered this, I couldn’t wait to tell my friends how I’d taken their advice up a notch. They told me that they’d expected nothing less of me since I was the self-proclaimed “Master Shopper.”  

Now that I’ve linked my credit card, I have the chance to earn even more rewards.  

I know from experience that figuring out how to maximize credit card rewards can seem intimidating, but it’s really not. There are so many different programs these days that reward you for using credit cards. Whether you’re interested in earning points for travel or getting cash back on your purchases, there’s a program out there for you. If you’re looking for the best program, I highly recommend downloading Shopkick and linking your Visa or MasterCard. In no time at all, you’ll go from a newbie user to an expert at getting your kicks and, most importantly, trading those kicks for gift cards to do even more shopping to maximize your earning potential!

It’s time to get your kicks! Shopkick makes shopping a rewarding experience, helping you truly maximize your credit card rewards. Download the app today and boost your shopping budget! 

Image courtesy of Nattakorn_Maneerat

Wouldn’t it be fun to earn cashback when you shop? Learn how.

Posted on by shopkick

I used to think there was nothing more fun than shopping. I loved going to stores, browsing for hours for new clothes, finding crazy deals on electronics—I loved the entire experience. I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve become such a dedicated shopper over the years. Though, I must admit, that my love for shopping has taken a toll on my budget now that I have more responsibilities as an adult. Thankfully, I recently discovered how to turn my love for shopping into a way to earn cashback. That’s right! There’s a way to earn cashback when you shop! 

Admittedly, this is an easy concept to love. It’s the same as shopping, but when you’re done, you earn cashback, or you earn rewards points towards things like gift cards—which are just as good as cash if you ask me. 

If you’re a dedicated shopper like me, wanting to shop without destroying your budget, you’re definitely want to read on to discover how to earn cashback when you shop!

How to Earn Cashback When You Shop

There are many ways to earn cashback when you shop. In fact, you’ve probably been doing it for years without even realizing it. Specials and promotions such as buy-one-get-one sales, rebates on electronics, or even customer loyalty programs all qualify as ways to earn cashback when you shop. The problem for me, however, is that these all occur too sporadically for my tastes. Luckily, there is a new way to earn cashback when you walk into a store to shop or even if you make an online purchase; it’s called a shopping rewards app. 

Learn About Shopping Rewards Apps

earn cashback when you shopIf you’re wondering what exactly is a shopping rewards app, the answer is simple—it’s an app that gives you rewards for shopping. The way a shopping rewards app generally works is that you download the app on your phone and use it every time you go shopping. There are several different types of shopping rewards apps—including store-specific apps and apps you can use at any participating store—which is why it’s so important to understand how they work.

The more you know about shopping rewards apps, the better job you can do selecting the perfect choice for your lifestyle. My personal favorite type of shopping rewards app is one that operates on a point-based system and can be used at many different stores—both online and physical stores. I also prefer a system that’s fun to use and doesn’t feel like work. I absolutely love shopping, and I don’t want my desire to earn cashback to change the experience for me in a way that leaves me less excited to shop.

Use Shopkick to Earn Cashback When You Shop

My personal favorite way to earn cashback while shopping is with an app called Shopkick. Shopkick is one of those apps that I described above; you can use it when you shop online as well as when you go into your favorite stores. Shopkick rewards you in “kicks” (points) for the things you already do while shopping such as walking into stores, scanning barcodes, watching promotional videos, and making purchases. 

I’ve tried other shopping rewards apps, and I can honestly say that Shopkick is by far my favorite. What I like most about Shopkick is that it turns the shopping experience into a fun scavenger hunt for kicks. You can invite friends to download the app and get in on the fun, too—earning you even more kicks. Once you’ve earned enough kicks, you can trade them in for gift cards, which are just as good as cash. Doesn’t that sound fun?

I’ve tried other shopping rewards apps, and I can honestly say that Shopkick is by far my favorite.

So, there you have it, my own personal fun and secret way to earn cashback when you shop. It’s especially useful for me since I love to refresh my wardrobe each season. And, what better way to shop than to do it to earn cashback? Earning cashback makes every trip to the store so worth it! 

If you’re looking for a fun way to earn cashback when you shop, check out Shopkick. I promise you’re going to love it so you should download the app today and start earning kicks! 

Image courtesy of Syda Productions